Litchfield enquirer., 1855-02-15
STEALING wArER-mE1o.s.

i all kinds of vegetables and fruits earlier than his neighbors. But thieving boys in the neighborhood annoyed him-damaged his trees, trampled down his flowers and hook ed' his choicest fruits. He tried various ways to protect his grounds, but his watch dogs were poisoned, and his traps caught nothing but his fattest fowls and his most fayorite cat.
 One afternoon, however, just at night:all, he overhears couple of mischievous boys talking together, when one ot them says:
 "What do you say, Joe shall we come the grab over them melons tonight, old Swipes will be snoring like ten men before twelve o'clock"
 The other objected, as there was high wall to get over.
 Oh. pshaw !'' was the reply ; !" know place where you can get over just as easy know it like book. Come, Joe, let's go it."
 The owner of the melon patch did mt like the idea of being an eaves-dropper; bu, the conversation so intimately concerned his melons, which he had taken so much pains , to raise, that he kept quiet, and listened to i the plans of the young scapegraces, so that he might make it somewhat bothersome to them.
 Ned proposed to get over the wall on the south side, by the great pear-tree, and cut directly across to the summer-house, just north of which were the melons.
 Joe was very clever fellow, who loved good fruit exceedingly, and was as obsti- nate as an ass. Get him once started to do thing, and he would stick to 1t, like mud turtle to a negro's toe. The other didn't care so much for the melons as for the fun of getting them.
 Now hear the owners story: "I made all needful preparations for the visit pu. in brads pretty thick in the scat tering along the wall, where they intended 10 get over :; uncovering large water-vat that had been filled for some time, from which, in dry weather, was accustomed to water my garden; dug trench foot deep or so, and placed slender boards over il, which were slightly covered with dirt, and just beyond them some little cords, fastened tightly, some eight inches from the ground. I picked all the melons cared to preserve, leaving pumpkins and squashes, about the size and shape of melons, in their places." The boys were quite right in supposing 1t
 
 inferring that |" old Swipes," as they called him, would be in bed. The old man liked little fun as well as they, and when the time came, from his hiding-place he listen- ed:
 "Whist Joe don't you hear some,hingl" think that very likely they did. for hard- ly were the words uttered, than there came a sound as of forcibly tearing fustian. Get off my coa,-tail!" whispered Joe. "There goes one flap, sure as gun! Why get of, Ned!"
 And Ned was off, and one leg of his brooches besides and then he was "ah'- ing and "oh"-ing, and telling Joe that he believed there were nails in the side of the wall, for something had scratched him tre- nendously, and torn his brooches all to pieces! :"
 Joe sympathized with him, for, he said, "half his coat was hanging up there, some- where!"
 They now started, hand in hand, for Ned believed tha, he "knew the way" They had arrived little beyond the trees, when something went swash swash into the water.vat. l A sneeze ensues, then the exclamation :
 
 Ned wanted to go home al once, but Joe was too much excited to listen for moment to euoh proposition.
 Never heard any thing about that eis.ern before the old fellow must have fixed it on purpose to drown people in. Curious, tho, that we should both fall in it.''
 They now pushed on again for the mel ons. Presently, they were caught by the cords, and headiong they went into heap of briars, and this,les, and the like, which had been placed there for their express ac- commodation.
 "Such gettin' up stairs !" muttered one. "Net,les and thistles! how they prick " exclaimed the other
 They now determined to go on more eau tiously. At length they arrived at the patch, ! "How thick they are, Joe! Come here There's more than a dozen fat ones, right here :"
 And down they sat, in the midst of them, and seemed to conclude that they were am. ply rewarded for all their mishaps.
 "Here, Joe, said Ned, take this melon; isn't i, rouserl Slash into it!'' '! "Itc tremendous hard, Ned. Ned, it's a squash r'
 "No, it isn't, tell you it's a new kind ': O.d Swipes sent to Rhode Island for the seed, last spring"
 "Well, then, all I've got to say, is, that the old fellow got sucked in-that's all"
 "l'm going to gouge into this wlter-mel, on halloo! there goes half-dollar! I've broke my knife. If didn't know it was a watermelon, should say 1t was pump. kin. Fact is, l believe il is pumpkin" What " the boys" did besides, while the owner went to his stable and unmuzzled the dog, and led him into the garden. he couldn't say; that they took long steps, tire onior and fower-bed fully revealed in the morn ing! They had paid pretty dearly for the whis. I tls. They had not tasted a single melon they had got scratched, torn their clothes were as wet as ;. drowned rats." and were half scared out of their wits a; ths favenous dog, and ,hs apprehension of being discoy' II cred. , The next night, the owner of the melon hatch invited all the boys of the village, in