The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-04-10

''Open that shutter" said the leader,
when we two stood on the roof of the
porch.
Now his was the point at which l
had intended to be heroic. But, very
much to my surprise, l was not. l
proceeded very quietly and expedi-
tiously to open that shutter. The win
dow proved to be up, leaving a space
of about twelve inches between sash
and sill. Though this aperture |
crawled into the room in obedience to
a suggestion on the part of my pal
l trust | shall never again in my life
feel so sneaking, low-lived and con-
temptihle AZ ! did when | stood within
that room. 1t seemed to me that | was
profaning a temple.
A star Of the smallest magnitude
burned at the tip of the gas-jet, and by
its dim light could see that Miss Mar.
vim had lain down on the bed without
undressing and had fallen asleep so.
Help me in" said the other thief.
He had thrust his head through the
open place and was reaching out one
hand to grasp some means of support.
With sudden determination | raised one
foot and planted square in his face a
kick in which | managed to concen-
tratc and give expression to all my
loathing for the man as well as my self
contempt and disgust at my own situ-
alton. The result was gratifying. With
Il mufiicd cry of pain the burglar rolled
off the porch and went plunging to the
ground.
The noise awoke Miss Marvin, who
rubbed her eyes sleepily, turned over,
and then sat up, looking at me at first
wonderingly and then terrified. had
turned the gas up, knowing that this
would brighten away the thieves as ef-
~fectually rs discharge of grape-shot.
Miss Marvin said I, "please do
not scream. Please DON'T
When | said this | assumed an OK
preston of the most tender devotion.
which could not fail, l thought to
soothc and reassure her.
'Who are you?" she answered trenl.
u~lously.
''Don't you know me?' l said, throw.
ing still more tenderness into nv ex-
preston.
Thn | laughed; for, accidentally
putting my hand to my face as l spoke,
discover i that | still wore the black
mask which my ''pal' had given me.
No wonder my facial contortions had
been Intellectual. This incident at once
restored my equanimity and brought
with it a sudden flush Of something
like POPULARITY. For 8 moment | felt
that | could enjoy the situation and
even take advantage of it.
Miss Marvin,' | said, II beg of you
not to be frightened. l dropped in
partly to do a little thieving and
partly to ask you a very important
question. As | lay concealed under
the sofa in the parlor this evening !
heard you remark that you were ready
to marry any mar who would conceive
OF some original method of popping
the question, Don't you think this ST.
uation has the charm of novelty about
it? Can you lay your hand on your
heart and say Their. is nothing unex-
pectcd, unhackneyed, spontaneous or
romantic about this form of proposal?
Will you, o will you be mincP'
Miss Marvin looked at me with a
mixture of expressions which it would
be hopeless to attempt to aualyze.
What is your namc?' she gaspcd
81 am your servant Preston" said |,
with a low bow.
''Preston,' exclaimed Miss Marvin.
Are you Preston9n
Then to my great establishment, Miss
Marvin arose from the bed, calmly
walked up to where ] stood, took me
by the ear and led me to the window.
'lou great, eayesdropping BOBBY
said she. If | ever catch you inside
this house again I'll scratch your eyes
out, Now crawl through that hole"
crawled.
was im%personating Preston, and !
am sure he would have crawled had he
been there.
told my the last half of this
story yestcrday-she was already &C.
qualntcd with the first half-and her
only remark was that II she had sus.
pected the identity Of the pseudo-Pres-
ton the night of the house-breaking she
would have retained the ear as a
memento of his impudence. The en-
ergy with which she said this caused
me to postpone some rather pointed re-
marks about novelties in proposing.
with which ] intended to conclude m,
and the reader will |, ye to draw
the moral for himself. - Micuqo 1r4J.
-
BABY MANIAC EMENT.