The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1884-06-19
THE BURGLAR ALARM.

Mr.. Fillisy came home in hot haste.
Important business called him out OF
town within an hours time.
"Oh, dear" sighed Mrs. Fillisy, as
she undertook to restore to order the
chaos of Mr.. Fillisy's search through |
closets and bureaus for the "few
things he considered necessary to his
comfort-''wlat shall l do? It's al
most dark, and nobody in the house but
the new girl, and haven't time to go
to mothers. and I'm so afraid. Josiah
knows it, too. Why didn't he leave me
pistol or something? Inever shot off
a pistol, and don't know what the
trigger is; but Pm sure | should feel
safer if had one. How dreadful it
would be to be murdered here all alone,
and Josiah to come home and find me
weltering in my gorel Ugh!' and Mrs.
Fillisy enjoyed good shiver over the
sanguinary picture she had conjured up.
But supper was announced at that
moment, and Mrs Fillisy had no time
to revel in melancholy wonderings as to
how "Josiah would feel then," and it
was not till after the two little ones
were snugly tucked in bed that she
had leisure to reflect upon her lonely
and unprotected state.
81 don't see why Josiah hasn't had
burglar alarms put in the house. 1t
would be so much better. I'll talk to
him when he comes home. l wonder
what they are like, anyway? Alarm
clocks, 1 suppose, and that sort of
thing. Now, why couldn't one invent
something simpler? I wonder
and here Mrs. Fillisy's thoughts were
arrested by bright idea.
She was seated by the stove, and her
glance fell upon the wire guard which
kept the wee toddlers from too close
contact with it's glowing surface.
"The very thing" she exclaimed
"I'll invent an alarm myself. Talk
about women having no inventive
genius. I'll have Josiah apply for {
! patent the moment he comes home
Now, I'll just get it and try, and it an!
burglar undertakes to get in here to
night he'll just wish he hadn't. that
ALL Tum, te, tum, te, tum," and Mrs
Fillisy started up in high glee.
After considerable pushing and haul
ing about in a closet under the stairs
: she brought to view large coil o
barbed re, in which Mr.. F. had tn
previous summer invested for the pur
pose of surmounting his orchard fence
"Now isn't it lucky that Josiah didn'
: use this? If he had, couldn't hav
shown him what smart wife he ha!
, and he wouldn't be able to refute, wit
J, success, the assertion that woman hs
a knowledge of mechanism. I'll sho'
them! Ouch! What mean stuff it
to handle! But all the better for NJ
Burglar Now, wherell put it first
Mrs. Fillisy pondered deeply, with a
the gravity worthy of great invento
9 and at last decided that as the hire
y girl had gone to bed, and there was I
one but herself about, she would bui
such a wall of barbed wire at the TO
Of the stairs as no burglar could pos:
bly, surmount. But when she HI
wound it around the newel-post, wi
,mI ual many "Ah's" and "Oh's," she foul
ur- that the wire wouldn't fasten itself
''' the wall, and as for this brave inve
tors making long and lonesoI
Journey into the woodshed for hamm
and nails-no, indeed, she wouldn
She'd show Josiah that womal
mind could triumph over matter.
"No man would think of this" s
said to herself, as she proceeded to f
ten the wire in and out of the ella
feet that held the stair-rods in positi
Dear me, it's slow work; but then
problems are slow of solution, and NJ
F, you mustn't be too smart an
yentor. l wonder what folk'll do v
U haven't got stair-rods? Get some
- suppose; or may be, now, when Jos
comes home he can think of someth
to hold the wire down, any "
Ouchl Just see my finger bleed! I
rid stuff! wonder how Mr.. Bur:
will like that"
And Mrs. Fillisy surveyed
n honest pride the work of her fel
brain, and nimble, but wounded fing
She had contrived, by dint of tw
ing and turning the barbed wire
every shape and direction, to crea
perfect battery of needle points on
Nower step.
OF o "You couldn't put your finger d
without getting pricked,' she SC
e, ouized as she attacked the next 5
'Now you see person might ha
carpet of this, that she could sp
down before windows and doors, al
a burglar were to step real hard
Y, I'D surely have to scream. and
! M.ald wake one; and then. Will