The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1884-10-23

infatuated with her vhitor. Such eyes,
such charming manners, suoh an ele-
giant figure, and above all such an APP
preciatve taste, were all alike remark
able, and not often met with in that
section OF the country.
"And he seemed to be quite taken
with you, Barbara" said the spinster,
rs she held up her night lamp and
scanned her willful niece; "and if no
should-if he should actually propose
to me for you'll should not say no."
~Of course not, Aunt Pen; of course
not Say yes, by all means, and I'll put
him up to smash all your pottery to
pay you for such mean trick. See il
/ don't"
1t was ~ o'clock midnight. The
moon had long since gone down and
the night was dark. Only few pale
stars shone between the black clouds
that were rolling up across the heavens.
How still and close and hot it was. Bar
bara turned uneasily in bed and longed
for day to break. IF 1 were at all
superstitious, she thought, carelessly,
Il should fancy something awful was
going to happen. Perhaps it's Jack. /
feel queerly-as though / ought to be
up and doing something, and can't
sleep. Every time fall into dose 1
dream of Aunt PENS old silver tankard.
1t seems to me-" she rubbed her
eyes and looked again. Yes it was there
a thread of light moving slowly past
her partly open door. For q moment
her heart stood still. Then she rose
noiselessly and stepped barefoot into
the hall. Far down at the sitting room
door the threads of light went, passed
in, and was gone.
ut must be jack" thought Bob,
softly descending the carpeted steps.
Il wonder what ON earth he can be do
ing at this time of night in the sitting
room. Aunt Pen will give him good
one in the morning for prowling about
the house of nights"
She went along softly and peered
into the room.
Goodness mercy mel" calculated
Bah, recoiling with horror from what
she saw there. 1t seemed hard to be-
lieve the evidence of her own eyes. But
it was no myth, no vagary of diseased
imagination. Right there, between
herself and the bronze door that guard
ed Aunt Pennyfeathers brio -brac, rose
the tall, dark figure of a man, and that
man was decidedly not her brother.
A big basket packed with the family
silver, which Bah instinctively recog-
nized even then, was on the floor beside
him, and Bah watched with fascinated
gaze as he coolly wrapped up the price
less old tankard and added it to the
collection. This done, he produced
key, and, fitting it in the bronze door,
unlocked it, and, taking a bag, hastily
began packing it with the articles found
in the recess. Even "the dress that
came over in the Mayfiower was
stuffed sacrilegiously in that big dark
bag.
AS Barbara watched the proceed
ings of the stranger, feeling of re-
bosom. The relics she had never
priced, low that they were about to
take wings and fly away, began to take
on an immense pecnniary value. She
ought to protect them, and why
shouldn't she?
Barbara forgot she was barefoot and
clad only in her night-gown. There
was the silver tankard and Mary AL
den's dress, the "Mayfower rag" as
she was wont to profanely call it-they
must be saved if everything else went.
The man had now entered the re-
cess and, with his back to the door, was
rapidly and carefully rolling the china
cups in bits of cloth and storing them
in the bag. The key was still in the
bronze door.
Like flash Barbara flew across the
room. She slammed the bronze door
shut upon the burglar and turned the
key in the lock with the rapidity of
lightning. This done, true to her fem
mime instincts, she stood there and
shrieked from sheer excitement.
Frightened nearly out of her wits as
the screams penetrated to her room,
Aunt Pen rolled out of bed, rolled
down stairs, and rolled finally into the
sitting-room, more dead than alive.
"What on earth, Barbara, is the mat
ter with you?" gasped Aunt Pen.
"Burglars!' shrieked Bah, In her
shrillest key.
Let me out of this, or I'll be the
death of you," roared a deep bass
voice from among the debris of Aunt
PENS bric-a-brac.
He stole the tankard," screamed
Barbara, HISTORICALLY, and the May
flower rag, and the Sevres cup, and all
the spoons and forks and things"
What an awful row" cried new
voice from the hallway.
Its jack" sobbed Miss Penny
feather. 20, Jack, here's live bur-
glar, and he's burgled all the family
silver and all my relics too"
"It's ST. john" screamed Barbara.
at can't be-" CALCULATED Aunt Pen,
raising her hands in horror. 1T can't
be st. John. st. John is a very nice
young man."
"Very nice young man be blowed, !"
said Jack, jerking open the door,
and collaring the prisoner. This
fellow is the noted pickpocket
Wilkins. Hasn't been cut Of
Sing Sing more than six weeks, to my
certain knowledge. How on earth did
you make his acquaintance, Aunt
PEN"
at all came about through the tank
| ord and the brio n brac Amt Pen