Life, 1908-11-05 · page 31 of 48
Life — November 5, 1908 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon (top):** A small boy watches an adult amateur hunter repeatedly miss shots. The child offers the sportsman a nickel and a running head start to let him shoot at him—a cheeky insult suggesting the man is such a poor marksman that even a child could hit him. **The Story "When Money Was Tight":** This appears to be a serialized crime fiction piece about a professional burglar methodically robbing a wealthy household. The narrative emphasizes his careful planning and technique—he timed the burglary knowing the lady of the house had withdrawn her jewels for a ball that evening. The burglar operates with precision and inside knowledge, suggesting premeditation rather than random opportunism. **Historical Context:** The title "When Money Was Tight" likely references economic hardship (possibly the early 1900s recession). The story romanticizes the burglar as intelligent and calculating rather than villainous—a common literary trope of the era. The overall page mixes light humor with sophisticated crime fiction, reflecting Life magazine's satirical approach to American society.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Small Boy: (Who has been watching amateur’s failures for an hour or morc): Say, MISTER Sportsman: WELL, WHAT 18 IT, Boy? “GIMME A NICKEL AN’ A START AS PAK AS THE FENCE AN’ YOU KIN MAVE ONE AT ME’? When Money Was Tight HE burglar had entered through the kitchen door, by cut- ting a hole in the glass pane, inserting his arm, and turning the key. As he passed on through the kitchen, butler’s pantry, ing room and hall, he carefully left each door wide op that in case of necessity, he would have a clear run for it. As he passed the sideboard in the dining room he looked it over critically. His sharp eye detected instantly that the articles were all plate with the exception of two salt cellars These looked like gold. He caught them up, looked them over carefully, and slid them into his pocket. They sere gold. He had a reasonably large canvas bag in his left hand, which had been folded neatly and put in his left hand pocket This he unfolded as he leisurely made his way upstairs, tuck- ing one end into his trousers pocket and letting the rest of the bag hang out. In going up the stairs, he carefully stepped on the sides, putting his rubber-soled shoes down cautiously. He knew if he stepped in the middle the stairs might creak. Once a mistake like that had caused him to waste a whole evening. As he paused an instant half way up the stairs, his eye caught in the reflected light of the street lamp, lying care- lessly, where it had been thrown on the window seat, the outlines of a magnificent party wrap, with its sable collarette. The young lady, tired out with her evening's entertainment, had left it there as she came in. As a matter of fact, the presence of this party wrap was simply a confirmation of the burglar’s plan in selecting this particular evening. For there had been a ball, and for this purpose she had visited the safe deposit vault during the day and taken out the magnificent jewel, a large solitaire ¢ mond pendant worth some fifteen thovsand collars. The burglar had timed the whole affair very well, although, to be quite candid, he had not come upon his midnight ven- ture by chance. It was all done by a system. He was in (Continucd on page 502.) comicbooks.com