Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-04-18

W3fnm 01oo Iooe o. y, loooeo y M Wosc1
under IL lampliGAE, andpaDsd On. A. 500
. - went out q dght ths lsad9 q Ii
party aross and I'D ths way to The porch 1,
front of the ho0sa
Il getting very poksrih for me. IN,
men seemed to suspect that was ~weaken
ing" and formed . hollow triangle with M Il
the center.
you climb this porch right after me-" saif
| the leadsr.
managed to do, though my hands wer,
rather unsteady. The porch was m open
work AFFAIR." temptation to any industriou,
| meak-thief
@Open that shutter" aid the leader, whsr
We two stood On the roof Of the porch.
Now this was the point at which had In.
tended to be heroic. But, very much to my
surprise, I was not. proceeded very quietly
and expeditiously to open that shutter. The
window proved to be up, leaving q space Of
about twelve inches between sash and SILL
Through this aperture crawled into the room
In obedience to q suggestion On the part Of
my pal"
thrust I shall never again in my life feel 50
sneaking, low-lived, and contemplate Is did
when stood within that room It seemed to
me that was profaning temple
A star Of the smallest magnitude burned at
the tip Of the gas-jet, and by its dim light I
could see that Miss Marvin had lain down on
the bed without undressing and had fallen
asleep So
Help me in" said the other thief.
BE bad thrust his hesd through the open
place and was reaching out one hand to grasp
some means of support. With sudden deter
mination ! raised one foot and planted square
in his face kick in which managed to con-
centrate and give expression to all my loath-
ing for the man Is well as my self-contempt
and disgust at my own situation. The result
was gratifying. With muffied CRY Of pain
the burglar rolled Of 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 ! bad turned the gas ur,
knowing that this would brighten away the
thieves as efectually as . discharge Of grape
shot.
Miss Marvin said I, please do not
scream Please don't"
When / asked this assumed an expression
OF the most tender emotion, which could not
fail, thought, to soothe and reassure her.
"Who are your she whispered TREMENDOUSLY.
@Don't you know mef' 1 said, throwing
still more tenderness into my expression
Then laughed; for accidentally putting
my hand to my face as spoke, I discovered
that still wore the black mask which my
@paln had given me. No wonder my facial
contortions had been Intellectual This Incl
dent at once restored my eQuanimity and
brought with it sudden flush Of something
like popularity. For a moment felt that l
could enjoy the situation and even take ad-
vantage Of it.
Miss Marvin" 1 said, Il beg Of you not to
Be frightened dropped in partly to do
little thieving aud partly to ask you
. very important question. As l lay con-
cealed under the sofa in the parlor this even
ing heard you remark that you were ready
to marry any man who would conceive OF
some original method Of popping the ques-
ton. Don't you think this situation has the
charm Of novelty about iti Can you lay
you hand on your heart and say there is moth
ing unexpected, unhackneyed, spontaneous,
or romantic about this form Of proposali
VIII you, o will you be miner
Miss Marvin looked at me with q mixture
Of expressions which il would be hopeless to
attempt to analyze
what is your Manner she gasped
Il am your servant Preston said 1, with
low bow
aPreston." exclaimed Miss Marvin Are
you Prestonr
Then, to my great establishment, Miss Mar
vim arose from the bed, calmly walked up to
where 1 stood, took me by the ear, and led me |
10 tho window
"You great eavesdropping booby!" said she. |
If ever catch you inside this house again |
III scratch your eyes out Now crawl through |
hat hole"
crawled
was impersonating Preston, and am sure
10 would have crawled had he been there
I told my wife the last half Of this story
was already acquainted with
he first half-and her only remark was that
she had suspected the identity Of the
'seudo- Preston the night Of the house-break-
ng she would have retained the ear as q me
nento Of his impudence The energy with
which she said this caused me to postpone
ONE rather pointed remarks about novelties
\ proposing, with which had intended to
onclude my story, and the reader will have
o draw the moral for himself n s." in
;hicago Tribune.