The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1873-08-02
COUNTING THE SHINGLES.

MR.. COvILLE's COMPLICATED MISFORTUNE.
There are men who dispute what thoy do
not understand. Mr.. Coville is such a
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. Covile doubted the figures
and whom the carpenter went away he
determined to test the matter by going on
the roof and counting them. And he won't
up there. lie squeezed through the scut-
tle-Coville weighs 23O-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 interior
ence some way in his further locomotion.
lie tried to turn over and crawl back, but
the obstruction held him. Then he tried
to move along little, in hopes that the
trouble would prove temporary, but an
increased sound convinced him that either
nail or silver had hold of his
clo'L, and that if he would save any of it
he must use caution. His folks were in
the house, but he could not make them
hear, and besides he didn't want to attract
the attention of the neighbors. So he sat
there until after dark and thought.
1t would have been an excellent oppor-
tunity to have counted the shingles, but he
neglected to use it. His mind appeared to
run into 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
son, and although he objected to having
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
to hit the strange boy ON the head and |
nearly brain him. AS soon as he recover
ed his equilibrium, he turned on Coville's
boy, who, he was confident, had attempted |
to kill him, and introduced some astonish-
ment and bruises 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 pound
ed his legs, and then hauled him back to
the walk again and knocked his head
against the gate.
And all the while tho elder Coville sat
on the roof and cried "Police," but
couldn't get away. And then Mrs. Coville
dashed out with a broom, and contributed
a few novel features to the affair at tho
gate, and one of the boardcrs dashed out
with double-barreled gun, and hearing
the cries from the roof, looked up there,
and espying a figure which was undoubt-
eddy a burglar, drove a handful of shot into
its legs.
With howl of agony Colville made a
plunge to dodge the missiles, freed him.
self from the nail, lost his hold to the roof,
and went sailing down the shingles with
awful velocity, both legs spread out, his
hair on end, and his hands making desper-
ate but fruitless efforts to save himself.
He tried to swear, but was SO frightened that
he lost his power of speech, and when he
passed over the edge of tho roof, with
twenty feet Of tin gutter hitched to him,
the boarder gave him the contents of the
other barrel, and then drove into the house
to load up again. The unfortunate Coville
struck cherry tree, and thence bounded
to tho ground, where he was recognized,
picked up by the assembled neighbors, and
carried into the house.
A new doctor is making good wages
picking the shot out of his legs. The
boarder has gone into the country to spend
the summer, and the Junior Coville, hav-
ing sequestered brick in the handkerchief,
is laying low for that other boy. He says
that before the calm of another Sabbath
rests on New England there will be anoth-
er boy in Danbury who can't wear cap.
Danbury News.