A quick-thinking Harvard student and his date spied, chased, and apprehended a thief carrying a portable television set out of Adams House at 1 a.m. yesterday morning.

The two, John Gernart '65-3 and Gail Gillam '65-3, were standing outside B Entry when they saw two strange youths enter the building. "We thought they were Yalies," Gerhart said. "They were obviously drunk." A few minutes later, however, one of the youths reappeared with a portable T.V. in his hand and an L.P. record and some shirts sticking out of his jacket.

Gerhart grabbed the youth, looked at the name tag in a protruding shirt, and dashed into the building to see if the shirt's owner was present. "It was Pat's shirt [Patrick E. Ciccone '66]," Gerhart said, "and his room was empty, so I knew right away something was fishy."

Aided by a neighbor, Mark Patek '65, Gerhart chased the thief down Bow St. and caught him in front of the Lampoon. Miss Gillam meanwhile hailed a passing police car, and the youth was taken into custody. Gerhart modestly deprecated his heroism. "The fellow could hardly walk straight," he said.

Police found a sweater, a flashlight, Ciccone's wallet, and four conflicting identification cards on the youth, as well as the television and record. "We may not know who he is," one officer observed, "but we damn sure know what he did."