News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-07-05

fault you went and wished he'd come.
e And for once in her life Bess was to-
d frightened to resent the charge.
It But Lizzie's courage rose to the occa
h sion. "Hush, hush, children i'' sh
o said, in q whisper. "Don't say a word
g and he won't know we're here. II,
d can't get in, and mamma will soon b.
e home. Let him knock. The blinds ant
o windows are all locked, and perhaps he'l
: go away when he finds he can't get in
e Come, let's get under the table here anG
Y pull the cover down, and then he can
e see US even if he does look in."
n They hurriedly crawled into their hid
ing place, and sat in a silent, trembling
i heap, while the knock at the door was
7 repeated once or twice, and then deep
gruff voice called, eli halo is any
: body home?" "No!" pipes Bess from
under the table, in very shaky tone.
"Hush, Bess Milham !" said Lizzy. She
was evidently not heard, for the strange
man knocked again as if he would beat
! in the door, and they heard him say,
81 must get in somehow; this sun is too
hot for ME out here"
Then one of the window blinds turned,
and they saw the horrible monster look
ing in. He was rather an elderly man,
with brown, hard-featured face, iron
gray hair, and very grim and decided
looking mouth, faded coat and vest, and
had on his head high beaver hat of the
style of forty years ago. 1t was set well
down over his ears, as if it were alittle too
large for him. He gazed into the room
lntently, but could not see the children
peering fearfully at him through a hole
in the table-cloth which hung over them.
He muttered something to himself and
shook the blinds, but they were fast.
Then they heard him go around the
house, trying one window after another,
but they all resisted his efforts. Then
all was silent for few moments.
'T guess he's gone away" whispered
Lizzy. But hardly had the words been
spoken when there came an awful sound
| from the pantry-the sound of a win
dow being raised And at that moment
it flashed over Lizzys mind that there
was no fastening to the pantry window
And, in fact, that she had forgotten it
altogether. The tramp had found that
one undefended point; he was getting in
through the window
What should they do? Should they
unlock the front door and run? No,
the bolts were hard to move, and the
man would be in before they could get
out, and, besides, he could easily catch
them.
There was but one thing to do, and in
spirit of genuine heroism Lizzy de-
termined upon it in an instant. "Carry,"
she cried, "the tramp is getting in the
window! You take Bess and open the
front door and run, and I'll keep him
back till you get away" and SO saying,
she scrambled out from under the table,
caught up the nearest available weapon,
which happened to be the best broom,
and rushed into the pantry.
Did Garry and Bess follow out her
directions Not exactly They did |
indeed follow her out from under the |
table, but got no further than the mid
die of the floor, where they stood hand
in hand, making the rafters ring with
their screams.
But their dauntless champion, when
she threw open the pantry door, found
her worst fears realized. The strange
man had indeed got the window raised,
and was on his way in. He had pitched
an old fashioned carpet sack and large
faded umbrella through before him, and
had then himself climbed laboriouslyand
up through the window.
At the moment when Lizzy arrived on
the scene he had, in fact, got his knees
and hands together on the sill, and in
that critical attitude looked up at her
with immense surprise and the dawning
of grin on his face, as she burst in up
on him with her weapon brandished.
For the fraction of second thay faced
one another thus. But Lizzy did not
stop for question or parley. With one
scream that would have done credit to
Comanche Indian, she lifted her broom
and brought it down on the top of that
ancient beaver with a whack that sent
the hat not only down over its owners
eyes and ears but over his nose as we'll,
and even over his mouth. Her victim
gave one protesting roar as his extin-
guisher came down over him, but his
subsequent outcries were buried in his
hat. He lifted one hand to try to pull
it off, but, in so doing grew unsteady on
the window sill, and, aided by second
blow from the broom. fairly lost his bal
ance and toppled over in a struggling
heap, but, unfortunately, not on the
ground outside, but inside on the pantry
floor.
At this unforeseen disaster even Lizzy's
courage failed her. She dropped her
broom and fled to unbolt the front door.
The two children in the kitchen set up
q louder scream, if possible, at the sound
of the tumble in the pantry. The I'M
fortunate intruder grunted and groaned,
and, writhing into a sitting posture,
tugged at the hat, which stuck to him
as if he had been melted and run into
it.
"For goodness gracious sake" cried
Mrs. Milkam's voice, as she hurried up
the front walk, "what as going on here?"
A scream from all three children as
they rushed to her for protection was
her only answer, but, looking through
the open pantry door, she saw a remark !
able sight. There sat the strange man
on the floor. He had at length succeed
ed, not in getting his hat back over his
nose, bodily, but in tearing the stiff !
brim from the upper part, and freeing
his mouth so as to get breath of air.
Fiery red in the face with exertion and
his short gray hair standing !
up all over his head, his eyes dilated
with amazement and Indignation, the
rim of the hat hanging round his neck
like an Old-fashioned ruff-he was o
sight to frighten any one.
And yet it was something different
from fear that made Mrs. Milham start
DUCK anu Iu6n Slituu dS IL BIG were ptTd-
lyzed, staring at the stranger.
''Good landy compassion!" she gasped.
"Uncle Patterson !"
The children stopped their screaming,
and gazed from her to the tramp, uncer-
tain. Lizzy was the first to realize the
and to see what she had done.
This was no trampl This was the very
uncle on whose coming they had been /
so long, and whom they were
going to receive in such polite and
lady-like way This was the rich uncle
who had come meaning to take them
home with him 10 Give in clover" and
this was the way she had welcomed him
All the lofty castles in the air which she
had been building during the past week
were shattered TO pieces and tumbled to (
the ground, so to speak, by the blow of ,
a broom. 1t was too dreadful She ,
cast one despsiring glance at the wrecked ]
hat and the red face, and then, sobbing !
out, 'Oh, mamma, thought he was the ]
tramp / thought he was the tra-G-dmpP |
buried her own face in her mothers |
dress, and criel as if her heart would {
break. The other children joined in the (
chorus, Bess loudest of all, and it seemed {
as if Bedlam had broken loose to the t
distracted Mrs. Milham. ,
She finally got voice enough back to {
begin, "Well, really, Uncle Patterson, [ {
don't know how to apol-" but at this
point she was interrupted by a new de- a
on the part of their peculiar :
guest. At Lizzy's cry, 81 thought he s
was tramp" his angry and surprised &
1o1 Il, 4r