Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-03-06
THE STORIES
THREE BURGLARS.
BY FRANK R. STOCKTON.
COPYRIGHT, 1889.
ICONTINUED.I

CONTINUED.
/ "We foated slowly, for the tide was
Just beginning to turn. and when we got
near the house / mentioned / no.
ticed that there was now no light in it.
When we were about opposite to it
father suddenly looked up and said, not
speaking very loud: BY George! if that
isn't Williamson Green's house. 1
wasn't thinkin' of it when we rowed up,
and passed it without taking notice of
it. 1 am sorry for that, for / wanted to
see Williamson, and now expect he has
gone to bed
"'Who is Mr.. Greene l asked.
"'Hes an old friend of mine said my
father, 'and / haven't seen him for
some little while now. About four
months ago he borrowed of me sex
tant, quadrant and chronometer. They
were instruments | took from old Cap
tain Barney in payment of some work |
did for him. | wasn't usin' them, and
Williamson had bought a cat-boat and
was studying navigation, buthe has given
up that fad now and has promised me
over and over to send me back my in
struments, but he has never done it. If
I'd thought of it l would have stopped
and got 'em of him, but didn t think,
and now | expect he has gone to bed.
However, I'll row in shore and see; per-
haps he's up yet
you see, ma am" said the speaker
to my wife, I'm tellin' you all these
particulars because / am very anxious
YOU should understand exactly how
every thing happened on this night
which was the turning-point of my
life"
Very good" said Aunt Martha, ''we
want to hear all the particulars"
''Well, then" continued the burglar,
''we pulled up to a stone wall which
was at the bottom of Green's place and
made fast, and father he got out and
went up to the house. After a good
while he came back and said that he was
pretty sure Williamson Green had gone
to bed, and as it wouldn't do to wakcn
people up from their sleep to ask them
for nautical instruments they had bor
rowed, he sat down for minute on the
top of the wall and then he slapped
his knee. not making much noise. though.
BY George he said. AN idea has
just struck me. 1 can play the pref
test trick on Williamson that ever was
. pIdNbu Oh IiIOIlil Hail. L iloSt IiNII u
ments are all in box locked up and
know just where he keeps it. | saw it
not long ago, when | went to his house
to talk about q yacht he wants built.
They are on table in the corner of his
bedroom. lie was taking me through
the house to show me the improvements
he had made, and he said to me:
'''''Martin, there's your instruments,
won't trouble you to take them with
you, because they're heavy, and you re
not going straight home, but III bring
them to YOU day after tomorrow, when
| shall be goin' your way"
CHOW, then. said my father. the trick
I'm thinEin' of playing on Williamson
is this: i'd like to take that box of in
struments out of his room without his
knowing it and carry them home, hav-
ing the boat here convenient: and then
in day or two to write to him and tell
him l must have 'em, because | have
special use for them. OF course, he'll
be awfully cut up, not having them to
send back, and when he comes down to
my place to talk about it, and after
hearing all he has to say, I'll show him
the box He'll be the most dunn
don't choose to tell him he'll never
know to his dying day how | got that
box And if he lies awake at night,
trying to think how got it, it will serve
him right for keeping my property
from me so long
But, father said 1, if the people
have gone to bed you can't get into the
house to play him your trick
THAT can be managed, says he. I'm
rather old for climbing myself, but ]
know a way by which you, Thomas, can
get in easy enough. At the back of the
house is Il trclliS with 4 grapevine run
ming over it, and the top of it is just
under one of the sccond-Story windows.
You can climb up that trcllis, Thomas,
and lift up that window-SaSh, very care
fully, SOS not to make no noise, and
get in, then you'll be in back room
with a door right in front of you which
opens into Mr.. and Mrs. Green's bed
room. There's always little night
lamp burning in it, by which you can see
to get about. In the corner, on your
right as you go into the room, is a table
with my Instrumentation standing on it.
The box is pretty heavy and there is
handle on top to carry thy. You needn't
be afraid to go in, for by this time they
are both sound asleep and you can pick
up the box and walk out as gingcrly as
a cat, havin', of course, taken your shoes
off before you went in. Then you can
hand the box out tho back window to
mel can climb up high enough to
reach it-and you can scuttlc down, and
we'll be off, having the best rig on
Williamson Green that L ever heard of
in my born days.
Il was very active boy, used to
climbing and all that sort of thing, and
l had no doubt that / could easily get
into the house, but did not fancy my
fathers scheme.
g Suppose | said, that Mr.. Will
hanson Green should wake up and see
me, what could l say? How could 1 eX-
plain my situation?
"'You needn't say any thing said
my father. If he wakes up blow. out
the light and scoot. If you happen TO
have the box in your hand drop it out
the back window and then slip down
after it. He won't see us, but if he
does he can not catch us before we get
to the boat; but if he should. however,
I'll have to explain the matter to him.
and the joke will be against me; but i
shall get my instruments, which is the
main point. after all