The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-08-15
COUNTING THE SHINGLES.
Mr.. COyille's Complicated Misfortune.

There are men who dispute what
they do not understand. Mr.. CO.
vile is such man. When he heard
a carpenter say there were so many
shingles on the roof of his house,
because the roof contained so many
square feet, CoViile doubted the fig
ures; and when the carpenter went
away, he determined to test the mat
ter, by going on the roof and count
ing them. And he went up there.
He squeezed through the scuttle-
Coville weighs 230-and then sat
down on the roof, and worked his
way carefully and deliberately
toward the gutter.
When he got part way down, he
heard sound between him and the
shingles, and became aware that
there was an interference some way
in his further LOGON otion. He tried
to turn over and to crawl back, but
the obstruction held him; then he
tried to move along little, in hopes
that the trouble would prove but
temporary, but an increased sound
convinced him that either nail or
silver had hold of his cloth, and
that if he would save any of it he
must use caution. His folks were
in the house, and beside, he didn't
want to attract the attention of the
neighborhood, So he sat there un-
| til after dark, and thought.
It would have been an excellent
opportunity to have counted the
shingles, bnt he neglected to use it.
His mind appeared to run in other
channels. He sat there an hour after
dark, seeing no one he could notify
of his position. Then he saw two
boys approach the gate from the
house, and, reaching there. stop. 1t
| was light enough for him to see
that one of the two was his ION, and
although he objected to have the
other boy know of his misfortune,
he had grown tired of holding on
to the roof, and concluded he could
bride the strange boy into silence.
With this arrangement mapped
out, he took out his knife and threw
it so that it would strike near the
! boys, and attract their attention.
1t struck nearer than he anticipated,
In fact, it struck so close as 10 hit
the strange boy on the head, and
nearly brain him. AS soon as he
recovered his equilibrium, he turned
on CoYille's boy, who, he was con-
fident, had attempted to kill him,
and introduced some establishment
in his face. Then he threw him
down and kicked him in the side,
and banged HIM on the head. and
drew him over into the gutter and
pounded his legs, and then hauled
him back into the walk again, and
knocKed his head against the gate.
And all the while the elder CO.
vile sat on the roof and cried, "P0S
Gce!" but could not get away. And
then Mrs. Coville dashed out with
Il broom, aud contributed few
novel features to the affair at the
gate; and one of the boarders DASH
ed out with a double barreled gun,
and hearing the cry from the roof,
looked up there, and espying a fig
ure which was undoubtedly bur-
glar, drove handful of shot into
his legs.
With a howl of agony, CoviIle
made plunge to dodge the missiles,
freed himself from the nail, lost his
hold TO the roof, and went sailing
down the shingles with an awful
velocity, both legs spread out, his
hair on end, and his hands making
desperate DuJ IfultieSS efforts 10 save
: himself. He tried to swear, bat
was so frightened that he lost his
. power of speech, aud when he pass
. ed over the edge of the roof, with
. twenty feet of tin guttering hitched
behind him, the boarder gave him
the contents of the other barrel. and
then drove in the house 10 load up
!. again. The subordinate Coville
struck in a cherry tree, and thence
bounded to the ground, where he
was recognized, picked up by the
: assembled neighbors, and carried
into the house.
: A new doctor is making good day
| wages picking the shot out of his
legs. The boarJler has gone into the
:. country to spend the Summer, and
, junior Coville. having sequestered
: q piece of brick in his handkerchief
il lying low for that other boy. He
says before the calm of another
t Sabbath rests OH New England
) there will be another boy in Dan.
, bury who can't wear cap.-Dan.
, bury News.