Mary McKinney was snug-a-bed that night in August 1893 when there came a rapping-tapping at the kitchen door.

And if perhaps her mind had not been clouded by slumber, it would have struck her strange that a  caller would be stopping by the farm in the depths of the night.

The farm was a few miles south of the Des Moines County village of Pleasant Grove and the elderly McKinneys seldom had visitors at any time of day. So Mary might have been excused had she opted to pull the covers over her head and stay in bed.

 In truth, it was Mr. McKinney who made the decision that the door should be answered and he prevailed upon his wife to abandon the bed and investigate the loud and persistent rapping at the back door.

Upon reaching the kitchen, Mary lit a coal oil lantern and opened the door just a crack to discover a large man standing on the step. This midnight caller explained he had lost his way and need a place to sleep the night.

It seemed like a presumptuous request. Mary replied that such a request must be vetted by her husband and she began to close the door.  Suddenly the stranger kicked the door, sending Mary flying backward.

In an instant the man, now waving a very large revolver, burst into the room and shouted for Mary to surrender.

Mary may have been momentarily confused but she immediately became fully awake  and it was clear that she was not about to “surrender.” Instead she seized a cast-iron fry pan from the stove and swung at the invader while she raised an unearthly shriek capable of peeling wallpaper from the parlor wall.

Mary’s unexpected counterattack caused the invader to step back and this gave Mary the opportunity to make a break for the hall door. The midnight caller then unleashed his heavy artillery and the small kitchen reverberated with the blast of a large-caliber gun being fired in a very small-caliber kitchen.

The slug struck the door frame, but it did not slow Mary down. As she pulled open the door, a second shot struck the wall and then a third shot impacted the door as Mary slammed it shut.

The stranger threw himself against the door but now Mary’s grown son, George, had arrived to help his mother man the barricades.

Elsewhere in the house, Mr. McKinney, sensing the kitchen battle was not going well, opted for a sensible retreat and left his family to the battle. He jumped through the open bedroom window and, clad only in his nightshirt, scampered into the night.

In the hallway, the battle continued, but Mary and George could hear more invaders crowding into their kitchen. After a few desperate moments, George yelled for his mother to make her escape while he held the door.  

Mary, with an agility that belied her age, magically disappeared through a nearby open window as the door fell with a mighty crash. George grabbed a nearby chair and smashed it over the lead figure’s head. Then George turned and followed his mother into the night.

George did not go far, however, because somewhere in the besieged house was his wife and young child. The young farmer ran to the front door, but there he encountered one of the invaders, who fired at George from nearly point-blank range.

The slug passed through George’s hair and the frantic farmer was forced to break off his attack and run for the barn. He only paused a minute before continuing his run to a nearby farm where he raised the alarm.

When the rescue party arrived, the midnight riders were gone. George’s wife and son stood crying on the porch and Mary was in her bed wailing hysterically. Mr. McKinney was not found until the next morning, for he had hid himself in a nearby oat field.

From there, matters became confusing. In the morning, George and his father rode to Burlington to enlist the help of the sheriff. Mary was at home when a party of mounted men rode up and Mary recognized one of group as the man who had forced his way into her kitchen.

Her fear was augmented by confusion when the men identified themselves as a posse from Danville and then they arrested Mary on charges of attempted murder of constable W.J. Miller — the man who had led the midnight raid.

Matters became even more muddied with the sudden arrival of a second posse from Burlington that promptly arrested constable Miller on charges of home invasion. A few weeks later, the matter ended up in court with Burlington’s popular opinion backing the McKinneys and Danville championing the constable.

In the end, the judges could not sort out fact from fiction and the cases were dropped.  But Mary had learned a lesson and was now more cautious about answering midnight knocks of the door.