Screams at Midnight.

Hokitika Guardian, 30 August 1922, Page 3

Screams at Midnight.

AN AUCKLAND COMEDY. A CONSTABLE’S EXPERIENCE. Piorcing shrieks, a mad beating with bare hands on the inside of a padlocked door and the frenzied erios of “Let me out!” startled the young constable on his lonely beat. Apprehensive of murder he paused. Then came the rush of heavy feet downstairs and a man’s voice: “For God’s sake shut up! You’ll have the police along.’’ ' Further shrieks rent the midnight air (reports the Auckland “Star” of Friday). These unusual sounds emanated from

a high building near Albert Park just after the city clocks had struck twelve. As the police are prohibited from entering premises at night singly, the constable ran along to the top of Victoria Street, and found a civilian, whom he sent for assistance. Then he went back to the scene of the disturbance and waited. Soon be was joined by a. brother officer, and the pair, finding no means pf entrance by the door, which was heavily padlocked, climbed up the fire escape. A LONG CLIMB.

It was a long climb, for they had to go to the fifth floor, guided by voices in violent argument, before they found entry through a window. In a sample room- on the top floor the police found a man and woman in loud altercation in an atmosphere highly flavoured with whisky. Tire couple were immediately silenced, and somewhat sobered, by the sudden appearance of the police. In answer to interrogations the ntnn declared that the woman was his wife, and they “just had a little difference.” They bad, he added, come up to the office to get through some arrears of work. “Well, we’ll get out of this,” said one of the constables, “and you can come along with us to the station and tell your tale to the sergeant." But how to get out was the question. With the ordinary exits to the streets locked, there was only one way and that was down the fire escape. This, with a large lady not quite herself, was not an easy journey. However, the party reached the bottom at last—to be met by half a dozen other police, who were by this time assembled in silence to await the exit of their comrades with the expected

corpse. A RUT® AWAKENING. The issue not being so sensational as anticipated, the couple were escorted to the police station, where in reply to further questioning, both maintained the husband-and-wife attitude. The man gave the name of a friend at a city hotel, whom the police quickly roused from his bed. He knew—Yes. He worked with a firm which had sample rooms on the top floor—Yes. He described . Yes; that was him. Knew his wife; yes “a little, dark woman.”

“That will do me,” grinned the constable. For lo! the woman in this case was very large and tall, and bad red hair! So the constable went back to the station and made his report and so confused the couple with the friend’s description of the real wife that the temporary one admitted the deception. However, as the man had evidently some right to be in the office in which he was .found, by virtue of his employment, that he could not be charged with being illegally on the premises, and no action could he taken against the woman either, as she was under the man’s escort. And so the pair were permitted to depart, and they went forth together, to take the early morning air.