Abstract: A security device for deterring theft of articles of merchandise displayed for customer handling and demonstration. A cable is attached to an article and is extendable under tension from a storage reel attached to a store fixture. A switch adjacent to the reel is held in one of two operative positions by the cable stretching across an actuator arm of the switch. If the cable is severed or cut, as by a thief intending to steal the article, the storage reel retracts the cable past the actuator arm causing the switch to change to the other position and actuate an alarm.