Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1893-12-16
A NIGHT OF TERROR.

daughters are sojourning at the Mannin!
J cottage for the season"
Mrs Taylor Of Pueblo and her aunt
Mrs. Tunnicliff of Kansas City are tn,
guests of Mr.. and Mrs. Trumbull."
By the middle of the month this gay par
ty became familiar with the beauties of thu
surrounding country. Manitou, shielded
; from every rough wind, lies nestled among
! the mountains like babe in its cradle.
The hangings of its cradle are in greer
and white.
Mr. Trumbull was bookkeeper for thu
Hiawatha clubhouse
When the financial crisis came, he was
ordered to draw all the firms money from
the bank and deposit it in the safe of the
clubhouse. This necessitated his sleeping
on cot beside the safe with enough am
munition to hold fort.
This unhappy maneuyer made the ladies
at the cottage very uneasy. Like flock
OF sheep, each lad drawn from the bank her
account.
That every burglar in Colorado knew
each home to be small bank, and that
they would be invaded, was a fact no one
had the courage to refute. With no man
in the house, each woman considered it her
duty to keep her nerve in a convenient
place for immediate use
1t would have been well had they further
initiated their money matters and tucked
their nerves under the ash pam
But Caroline Katherine, the elder daueh-
ter of Mr. Trumbull, posed as a brilliant
exception to the rest.
why need she be afraid9" asserted little
Trot Trumbull as she and her brother fed
across the hall one morning at 2 o'clock
from phantom thief. 'If she'd Just throw
her name at man. it would mash him like
club"
forgot to mention that the cottage was
a double house, and the other half was
empty
Caroline Katherine slept in the rear room
next to the empty half of the house There
was great closet in her room, with win
dow opening upon the porch. Thus the
window of the closet and the side door of
the empty house were adjacent Every few
nights the scene was repeated of Trot and
Mrs. Trumbull fleeing in their robes de mutt
to the protecting care of the two old ladies.
or vice versa.
| Invariably they would shake Caroline
| Katherine and lin syllable fire" announce,
Some one is in the house sure this timer
And she as invariably settled herself for
sleep with the remark, 1T is nothing,
nothing at ALL"
But somehow on the night of july 10
her brave assertion did not produce the
| usual sleep.
After lying quietly for about two hours
lx1 CT VT oJ h.,
porch, quickly followed by what seemed a
knock on panel of her closet door. AL
though paralyzed with fear, happy
thought flashed across her mind.
When the Others had been prowling
around at half after l, Mrs. Taylor spied
the bolt on this very closet and had said
as she slipped it into place. "Why not lock
this?"
Knowing the intruder would have the
door to break before reaching her, Caroline
Katherine deliberately put on one shoe to
the accompaniment of two knocks. When
she had the other shoe on and started across
the room as fast as her trembling limbs
would permit, she heard sound as of some
one bracing himself and giving mighty
shove.
In another minute she was in the next
room waking the old ladies with: God
bless you for locking that doorl Bless you!
Bless you'll"
AS she struck match mans voice out
side was heard to call "Pard!" Then all
was still.
Mrs. Trumbull and Trot Immediately an
peared and added their conjectures as to
how many burglars there were, could they
be armed, etc,
Old lady TunnicliH took the lamp and
led them forth to battle-that is, they all
marched in single file into the rear room
and looked at the closet door, then hastily
retreated to the music of Trot falling over
chair.
At which all the ladies' gave q loud
"Hushr' as though the hero of the night
were a corpse.
At this point Mrs. Taylor was seized with
an attack of asthma. She crept back into
bed, and sitting bolstered by pillows
wheezed and coughed enough to wake the
dead. Caroline Katherine took her chair
and placed it in the doorway of the two
rooms, declaring she would not take her
eyes off that closet door.
ut is just half past B." said Mrs. Trum-
bull from the foot of the bed. "They have
Deen around Tor Two hours"
SWELL" said sensible old lady Tunnicliff.
II know q cup of tea would not hurt me.
and it might do niece good. How about
you, Mrs. T,S"
"Oh, just the thing My nerves need re-
wing"
Mamma, mamma, how could youPn
called Caroline Katherine in stage wbis-
per, when he's right here. I heard
sound"
just the same, in few minutes the alco.
hol lamp had boiled them nice cup of tea
After much discussion it was decided to
rink the tea alone, as it was so far to ret
The crackers. No two could be permitted
20 leave the room alone. Old lady Tunpi-
cliff took cup to Caroline katherine in
The doorway and persuaded her to take a
ew sips. Two bright eyes were riyeted on
The closet door as each spoonful went to
Ter mouth.
The weary hours wore on, broken only
" the whispered tales of awful woe in
which burglars and defenseless women
we're the only actors.
Finally daylight dawned. The most
hanged scntinels Mrs. Tunnicliff took
he duties of Waterman, while Caroline
katherine and Trot crept from the front
loor. They FASTENED down the street, look
ng back every step as they crossed the
ustie bridge, reaching the Hiawatha Just
IS their father was shaking off Morpheus
influence.
To their disappointment, be would take
10 other help than his revolver. but when
nee in the cottage he needed a squad Of
olice to help him to pillow his way to the
loset door.
First his wife in terror. with her arms
round his neck, implored him to get an.
ther man. He will kill you in a minuter'
hen his hands were grasped on either side
18th "Oh, Harvey, they may be armedv'
nd There are more than one!" and There