The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-07-14

SOME ADVENTURES OF A DANBURY FAMILY
From the Danbury Neus.] There are men
who dispute what they do not understand.
Mr.. Coville is such man. When he heard
carpenter say that there were 80 many
shingles on the roof Of his house because the
roof contained go many square feet, CoYille
doubted the figures, and when the carpenter
went away he determined to test the matter
by going up on the roof and counting them.
And he went up there. He squeezed
through the scuttle-CoviIle weighs $50
and then sat down on the roof and
worked his way carefully and deliberately
toward the gutter. When he got part way
down be heard q sound between him and
The shingles, and became aware that there
was an interference some way in his further
iocomotion. He tried to turn over and
crawl buck, but the obstruction held him.
Then he tried to move along little, in hopes
that the trouble would prove but temporary;
but all 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,
bnt he could not make them hear, and, be.
sides, he didn't want to attract the atten-
tion Of the neighbors. So he sat there until
after dark and thought. 1t would have
been all excellent opportunity to have
counted the shingles, but he neglected 10 use
1t. His mind appeared to run into other
channels. He sat therc on hour after dark,
seeing no one he could notify of his position.
Then he saw two boys approach the gate
from the hoIse, and reaching there, stop. IL
was light enough for hEi TO see that one of the
two was his son, and although he objected to
having the other boy knowing OF his misfor-
tune, yet be 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 to the boys and attract their attention.
1t struck nearer than he anticipated. In
fact il struck so close rs to hit the strange
boy on the head, and nearly brain him. AS
soon as he recovered his equilibrium he
turned on Coyile'S boy, who, he was conf
dent, had attempted to kill him, and intro |
duced some establishment 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 gut. |
ter, and pounded his legs, and then
hauled him back to the walk again and
knocked his head against the gate. And
all the while the elder Coville sat on the roof
and screamed for the police, but couldn't
get away. And then Mrs. Coville dashed
out with broom, and contributed Il few
novel features to the affair at the gate, and
one Of the boarders dashed out with O
double-barrelled gun, and hearing the cries
from the root, looked up there and espying
a figure, which was undoubtedly burglar,
drove handful of shot into its legs. With
u 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 awful velocity, both legs
spread out, his hair on end, and his hands
making desperate but fruitless efforts
to save himself. lie tried to swear,
but WAS so frightened that he lost bis
power of speech; and when he passed
over the edge of the 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 Goville struck into 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 boarder has gone into the coun-
try to spend the summer, and the junior
Coville, having sequestered piece Of brick
in his handkerchief, is laying low for that
other boy. He says that before the calm OF
another Sabbath rests on New England there
will be another boy in Danbury who can't
wear n can.