The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-10-27

Auu Huu III tOVe uIeS precious veal.
--Augtsstd LdrTsd. IN N. Y. Independent.
HOW PHIL CAPTURED 4 BURG.
4 Ell LAR. e
4 am Phil Morris. fourteen years old,
and the youngest clerk in Covert Saw
ings- Bank. The cashier is my uncle
Jack. and he began at the bottom,
where | am. when he was a boy. He
says that a boy had better grow up
with a country bank than go West and
| grow up with the country, He thinks
there more money in it. sf8e4
4 .sIf there's anything in you,'' he
said one day, you'll work your. way
up to be bank President at some time.'
Uncle Jack says and does such queer
things sometimes that people say he 8
odd. They tell about his being so
wrapped up in our bank that he never
had time to hunt up q wife. / notice,
though. that when father and mother
died and left me asswee little baby.
Uncle Jack found time to bring me up,
and give me good education, to boot.
Oh. he's as good as gold or Govern
ment bonds, Uncle Jack is. sFss
i We live in rooms lover the bank,
where old Mrs. Halstead keeps house
Tor us. Underneath, we do the busi-
ness. There's heaps of money in our
two big vaults. Last summer and,
mind you. this was while was away
on vacation--two men broke into the
| building. They came up stairs and
into Uncle Jacks ROOM One had q
| bull s-eye lantern that he flashed in
Uncle Jacks face as he sat up in bed.
and the other pointed big pistol right
at his head.
'.Tell us where the vault KEYS are. or
I'll shoot you," he said.
sob, Uncle Jack, l broke in, when
he was telling me about it. "what did
you dop'
What would you have done?'' he
asked, in his odd way.
:" know what sooatid,s't have done.''
answered him, Strengthening up bit
keys"
.Ahp' Uncle Jack says, kind of half
doubtful, and then went on: .Wel, /
told them to shoot away. And they
knew as we'll as did that shooting
wouldn' t bring them the keys. So when
they found they couldn't frighten me,
the scoundrelS tied me, and went off in
rage, with my watch and poeket-boek,u
That was last summer One night
along in the fall Uncle Jack started off
down town. 9 It's Lodge night, and I
may not be back until late, he said.
- You won't mind staying alone-a
great .Sy Ike you" And Of course 7
But somehow, after Mrs Halstead
went to bed, found / did mind it. IL
don't know what made me feel so fidr
ETY.. Perhapsit was reading about a
bank robbery in Bolton, which is the
next town to Covert 1t was thought
to be the work Of Slippery Jim, o noto-
rious burglar. And while was think
ing about it, dozed off in Uncia Jacks
easy chair.
Ow-w-w!' / sung out all at once.
And if on d woke up of a sudden to
see rough-looking man, with SLOUGH |
nat pulled over his eyes, standing right
10 'front.' OF you, you d have done the
same. "What-what do you want
hereP | sort of gasped; and tried to
speak 50 he wouldn't hear. my teeth
knock together.
80 The vault keys-where are theyP''
he answers, short and gruff. And then
he kind of motioned with his hand-I
suppose to show the revolver he was
holding.
was pretty badly scared; but all the |
same, / didn't mean he should have
those vault keys, if he shot the top of
myhead off. 1853
Come, hurry up,n he said, with a
sort OF grin. And 1 noticed then that |
ne had red whiskers. and some of his
upper teeth were gone, so that he
didn't speak his words plain.
ISL should know you anywhere III
thought. Strategy, Phil Morris, y III
said to myself, bracing up inside; for a |
story I'd read about how a lady caught
q live burglar came across me like a /
flash. Please don't shoot. sir'' / be-
gan to say, with all sorts of demi-seroi-
quavers i'll my voice. please don't: /
indeed I'll show you where they're
kept" So, making believe to shake I
all over. l took the lamp and led the i
way into Uncle Jacks bedroom. .sThe
k-k-k-eys are in th-there. sir,n 1 told
him.
You should have seen how nv -finoers
trembled when pointed to the little
storc-room that opened out of the
chamber. The Keys were there true
enough, but I'd like to see any one ex-
cept Uncle Jack or find them. sup
pose you have of such things as secret
panels. -
The store-room floor is lower than
the chamber floor. Many slime. when
haven't been thinking, I've stepped
down with a jar that almost sent INV
backbone up through the top of my
head
I'm there, ehp" said my bold burg
ar. quite cheerful like. and pushed BY.
me to the open door.
set the lamp down. and my heart
began to beat SO that I was almost
afraid he could hear it. snow or
never whispered.
It was all done quicker than you