“Bill the Bum” in Downy Bed.
The story of Mrs. Cook’s adventure in the home of Mrs. Hodkinson, a neighbor, was much like the experience of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Both women are residents of San Francisco, Cal.
The Hodkinson family has been in New York for some time, and Mrs. Cook promised to look out for the house. She went there the other day to see that all was well.
She didn’t know that “Bill the Bum,” who says his address is Everywhere, was there in the role of Goldilocks. Bill had made himself at home there for three days. He had crawled through a basement window and had sampled things as he went along till he got to the top floor, where there was a nice cozy bedroom and a soft bed.
He had found bread and wine and was filled to contentment. Just like Goldilocks in the home of the Three Bears he had a fine time. Then he got sleepy and dozed off.
Mrs. Cook found him stretched out on a bed upstairs, snoring like a trooper. She tiptoed downstairs and called a policeman. The officer made so much noise climbing the stairs that Bill the Bum was awakened and took a header through an open window. He was captured after a chase, taken to the city prison, and charged with burglary. Among the things taken and not recovered are two cherry pies, three bottles of wine, and half a box of fine cigars.