The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1885-08-21
TRY the key!' whispered the pris.

TRY the key!' whispered the pris.
oner.
He conjectured rightly that the es.
Gaping thief had not stopped to possess
himself of that. The new conner pass
ed swiftly his fingers over the rough
boards. found it and turned it in the
lock. Then. as the door opened. NJ
felt an eager inadvertently a WON.
an's-grasp his arm.
.Hurry!' she said. dragging him
away. ..Cy has gone for the Dunfry
boys. and they may be here any min.
Ute
Don't be excited" sad Moses
Cradl fl. laying h old of her arm in re-
turn. and speaking in his natural tones
of voice. WAT till l lock the door
aga n. This is Mrs. Ferris. l believe?
"Ohr" she screamed. struggling to
escape. Il thought
You thought / was Joe;'' he finish.
ed the sentence which she abruptly
broke off. 1T has been night oil
blunders. but some are beginning to be
expla ned
"Oh dear. dear! let me go!" she
pleaded, overwhelmed with confusion.
Il don't know what I'm here for-l
must be crazy! Do let me gor'
81 shan't hinder you" replied the
farmer. "Only Ican't think of letting
you 60 alone through the woods al
this me of night; I'm too polite .
man for that. And l guess I'd better
get lantern and let nv wife know.
Keep your Ratchet Mrs. Ferrs!"
He led her. reluctant and beseeching
to his own house. and into the kitchen,
where good Mrs. Cradliff was mar
velously amazed at seeing such visi-
tor at such an hoir.
With her guilty Ratchet still in hel
hand. and hiding her face in her hood.
the wretched woman was protesting
her own and her husbands innocence
in one breath, and in the next pleading
poverty as an excuse for their wrong
doing. and begging to be let go; and
Mr.. Cradliff was pulling on his boots,
preparatory. As he said, to ''beauing
her home." when voices at the barn at
tracted his attention. and looking out,
he saw Cyrus coming with his COM
panions, one of whom he recognized
by the lantern-light as Joe.
''Come in! come in, all of your he
cried. There are some things thai
need explaining"
Il should say SOL" exclaimed Cyrus.
''After you shut me up in the granary,
the real thief came, and shut HIM up.
Where is he?''
when l went to let you out" said
the father. The knocked me over and
got away. shutting me up.
1T beats all the mixed-up messes
ever saw" laughed merry Joe Ferris.
How did you get out?"
That's the strangest part of it all"
said Mr.. Cradl.ff. ushering the men in-
to the kitchen. "The robbers wife
had somehow got word that he was
locked in the granary. and she came to
his rescue. But that was after he got
away, and she kindly released me in
stead. Here she is. with her hatchetm
And in the shame-faced creature hid.
ing in the corner Joe Ferris recog-
nized his own devoted Jane. He had
missed her on his way home. where he
had just arrived and learned of her
absence from their oldest girl, when he
was called out by Cyrus and the Dun
fry bows. In going with them he had
been fearful that they might fall in
with her. and he was congratulating
himself on escaping that peril, when
here she was with her hatcheti
The tone of his forced and brazen
laughter changed with surprising sud-
denness, and thrown off his guard, he
made no attempt to deny his guilt.
This was afterward abundantly con-
firmed by the discovery in his house of
manv purloined articles. which his
neighbors recognized as some they had
lost during the past few months. The
wife being let off for the sake of the
the family disappeared from
the town about tine time Joe was sent
10 work in the Penitentiary. and the
Cradliff family had no more adj
ventures with robbers.-J z. Trow-
bridge, in Youths Companion.