The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1886-12-06
A NIGHT ON THE ROOF.
, BY GEORGE F. WALSH.

was porn, ana nave always managed
to maintainssmy reputation as bashful
man; but whe1fs scmergency demands it,
I can rouse myself'to acts ofconsiderable
boldness and bravery, and face4the most
dangerous risks. When a youth al
ways preferred the society of my male
companions. and shrank from encoun-
tering those of the opposite sex, with as
much fear rs if they were so many blood
thirsty Amazons. But as I increased in
age partly ovcrcame this shrinking dis
position, and in time l fell desperately
In love. As Cupid would have it, the
fair one to whom I gave my heart re-
turned my feelings, and in time We were
duly married.
My prospects in LIE then looked
bright. l pictured to myself the solid
comfort that l would enjoy in my quiet
home, and, I believe, very foolishIy took
an oath that l would not go out to the
clubs, or into society, for the next ten
years. How faithfully kept this reso-
luton it is not necessary to say here; but
I soon became very domestic man, at
tending TO my business in the day time,
and remaining home at night with my
family. MY wife was home body her
self, and she looked upon my determina-
tion to help her in the evenings to take
care Of the children, and to talk with
her. as m$st seif:sa saoz;4sssng aet txxsosa,
fess It was not; l did it because1 en-.
joyed it, and was to- bashful to go out
much and minglc with my companions
In this way We became more endeared
to each other, and strove to Tighten the
burdens of life as much as possible by
mutually confding in each other. As
my business was somewhat cXhausting,
always retired early, in order to get up
with renewed vigor and health. My
wife, likewise had considerable work to
do, as we kept but one servant, and she
usually adopted my early hour rule, and
got the children to sleep as soon as 1t
was dark.
But one eventful night ms wife and l
had the first serious rupture of our life,
and for time it threatened to estrange
our affections for each other. l had re-
tired at my usual hour-nine o'clock
and feeling somewhat tired I soon fell
into deep slumber. I was suddenly
awakened by moSt unaccountable
noise. 1t seemed to come from the ad
joining room, and sounded like the
scraping of some ones feet on the
bare floor. I lay awake for a moment
listening. 1t came again, only more dis
tinct, and accompanied by groan or
growl.
There was but one thought that en-
tered my mind; burglars were in the
house. The idea did not seem to be
especially terrifying to me, although l had
always entertained horror for such
desperadoes. 1 raised myself on my
elbow and listened again. My wife was
sleeping calmly by my side, dreaming Of
anything but robbers. I would not
awaken her, as the fright would proba-
bly, make her i'll, and so resolutely de-
termined to meet the robbers alone, and
trust the rest to wiser hand.
Ny presence of mind was remarkable
for me; and when l leaped out of my
bed drew on portion of my clothes as
deliberately as if 1 was going down 10
my breakfast. When this work was
finished l gently put my hand under the
pillow, and drew forth my pistol, which
/ always kept in readiness for just such
emergencies. My wife moved uneasily
as 1 touched the bed, but she did not
open her eyes At last was prepared
to encounter my adversary or adversarics,
and walked across the room to the hall
door.
opened the door and peered forth
into the darkness. Everything was
quiet. Then I heard a noise in the
small closet that opened on the roof of
the house. 1t was somebody ascending
the wooden ladder to the skylght above.
Quick as thought I hurried to the place,
hoping to get a pop at the man before he
could escape through the opening. AS
I pulled the door back on its hinges the
cover of the roof gave jump and q
bang, and then all was still.
My burglar had escaped; but I still
hoped to n him before he could
jump OF the roof, or slide down some
water spout. With the agility of a cat
ut least, it seemed to me sol leaped
up the ladder, making a terrible rafting
noise as did so. Then out on the roof
I hurried, revolver in hand, ready 10 fire
at the first black object that should pre-
sent itself. Icould see nothing; but to
make doubly sure 1 walked across the
roofs of several other houses, and sur
veyed my whole surroundings. ---
The discovery which made caused an
angry exclamation to rise to my lips. \
numbcr of cats were quarreling and