Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1882-01-04
HOW PHIL CAPTURED A BURGLAR.

HOW PHIL CAPTURED A BURGLAR.
/ am Phil Morris, fourteen years old,
and the youngest clerk in Covert Saw
ngs-Bank. The cashier is my uncle
Jack, and he began at the bottom,
where am, when he was a boy. He
says that boy had better grow up
with a country bank than go West and
grow up with the country. He thinks
there's more money in it.
"lf there's anything in you," he
said one day, you'll work your way
up to he bank President at some time"
Uncle Jack says and does such queer
things sometimes that people say he's
odd. They tell about his being so
wrapped up in our bank that he never
had time to hunt up wife. ] notice,
though, that when father and mother
died and left me wee little baby,
Uncle Jack found time to bring me up,
and gave me good education, to boot
Oh, he's as good as gold or Govern
ment bonds, Uucle Jack is.
We live in rooms over the bank,
where old Mrs. Halstead keeps house
for us. Underneath, we do the bust
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 n
bull's-eyc 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.
"Oh, Uncle Jack" I broke in, when
he was telling me about it, what did
YOU do"
What would you have done?" he
asked, in his odd way.
II know what ] wouldn't have
DONE answered him, Strengthening
up bit wouldn't have given 'em
the KEYS"
"Ah" Uncle Jack says, kind of
half doubtful, and then went on {:
"Well, | 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
brighten me, the scoundrels tied me,
and went off in rage, with my watch
and pocket-book."
That was last summer. One night
along in the fall Uncle Jack started off
down town. dts Lodge night, and I
may not be back until late" he said.
"You won't mind staying alone-a
great boy like you," And of course I
said mo"
But some how, after Mrs. Halstead
went to bed, l found I did mind it.
don't know what made me feel so fidg-
ETY.. Perhaps it 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, 4 no
torious burglar. And while I was
thinking about it, / dozed off in Uncle
Jacks easy-chair.
"Ow-w-wW / sung out all at once
And if you'd woke up of sudden to
see rough-looking man, with SLOUGH
hat pulled over his eyes, standing right
in front of you, you'd have done the
same. "What-what do you want
herc?' | sort of gasped and l tried
to speak so he wouldn't hear my teeth
knock together.
"The vault keys-where are they p
he answers, short and gruf. And then
he kind of motioned with his hand
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 my head off.
"Come, hurry up" he said, with a
sort of grin. And / noticed then that
he. had red whiskers, and some of his
upper teeth were gone, so that he didn't
speak his words plain.
81 should know you anywhere"
thought Strategy, Phil Norris"
said to myself, bracing up inside; for a
story I'd read about how lady caught
a live burglar came across me like a
flash. please don't shoot, sir" | be.
gan to say, with all sorts of demi-semi
quavers in my voice-"please don't
indeed III show you where they're
kept" So, making believe to shake
all over, | took the lamp and led the
way into Uncle Jacks bedroom. "The
k-k-k-eys are in there, SIR" tolt
him.
You should have seen how my fin