The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1893-02-04

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THE 81 RGLAR.
Ezra 1immus vuz % steady uBn 90
forty who had h.u fifteen yars book
keeper for th. prosperous uuDHry house
of Ham. Bacon lHrl a. Co. Tu ruud
against burglars. Doe cultivated 900 rc.
quauiauce with thr policemen whu
alteIm,ed on the h.- and dropped mys-
tcrious hints of uunifcsut rewards in
case they cuught 10 burglar 800 tis uct.
He had burglar ularm iu Dis bedroom
and shotgun from which Mrs. Tim.
minis WAS iu the habit of withdrawing
cartridges for fear be should shout him.
self
Many q slpcpa-' night he spent in
prowlmg about she house ina the darl, iu
quest of some intruder whose f1otstep
he Thought hr heard. He read every ar
ticle in the hencwspaprrs about hurglarics.
aud surprised his wife and niece hy the
extent and accuracy uf his information
touching the me. 'iuds OF tho fraternity
He plunged thum into depths Of despair
by declaring that he knew It was his les
tiny To wake mp some morning and find
the house robbed and Constance's throat
cut
Constance WIS a lovely girl, the daugh-
ter of an elder brother of Timmins who
had gone south after the war. bought a
plantation. taken the yellow fever aud
died. leaving an estate of which the
yaluc was unknown. She was co.
quettc, and had Il host of admirers who
seldom commando the approval Of her
uncle or ,uut. If they were Young
Uncle Ezra said they were snips and
ought to be in the nursery " they were
old, he said they should he in some old
peoples home. Constance laughed at
his invectives, and when her uncle for
bade this or that man the house she met
him elsewhere, if be had taken her fancy.
Among the admirers who could not
fairly be condemned to the nursery was
| Colonel Pitblado. He had met Constance
at a small party and had been struck by
her beauty and vivacity. With his usual
circumspection he had instituted inquir-
les regarding her prospective fortune.
From the assiduity with which he pur-
sued her afterward it may be Inferred
that the result of the investigation had
been satisfactory
Much to his annoyance Constance not
only did not ask him to the house, but
begged as favor that he would not
come at any rate for the present
you see, Colonel Pitblado," said she,
Il have rather taken a fancy to you
and l don't want to lose you. Now, my
uncle, who is the best man in the world.
invariably takes dislike to people who
| pay me attention. have IA presentiment
that if you came to the house he would
/ quarrel with you, and that would he the
| end of our acquaintance
The colonel argued. but it was of no
avail. The only concession which Con-
/ stance would make was that now and
/ then, say once week she would leave
/ the door open after her uncle had gone
to bed. and the colonel might slip in and
| spend a few minutes with her in the dark
in the hall or in the drawing room.
Il know, she said that You are too
much Of a gentleman to make me regret
my good nature; anyway think | can
take care of myself
The coloners behavior was beautiful.
His speech was eloquent on the subject
of his love. but he rarely vcnturcd even
to press the fingers of his charmer as
they sat side by side ON the sofa.
There they sat one night, and Con-
stance, in a subducd voice, was explain
ing her uncle's extraordinary terror Of
burglars
Has he over been robbed:" asked the
colonel.
Il believe that when he was child
burglars broke into the house where he
was living and killed one of the inmates.
He was Weakened out of bed by the sound
of the shot and he has never got over
the shock.
Il can quite understand it, replied
the colonel There is something pecui-
iarly terrifying in midnigh, encoun-
ter with man whom you cannot see,
and who has everything to gain and little
to lose by taking your life"
oh" cried Constance, 1.-The thought
fills me at times with such horror that
, am as afraid of burglars as my uncle.
think that if | saw one in my room, ]
would die of fright"
Il hope said the colonel laughing
that J would not show the white
! feather. But must say do not banker
to meet a burglar in the flesh
At that moment a slight noise was
heard outside the drawing room door
1t was the faintcst possible creak of q
weak flooring plank under tread. Boil
the tenants of the sofa looked up and
held their breath, with ears ON the full
strain. Another board creaked and pres
emily. after n wait which seemed TO las
Tor ages. the acute ears Of the coldne
detected mufied tread on the carpet o.
the room in which they sat. There wat
a third party in the room. He was shOt
with wool and was moving noiselessl!
and occasionally stopping as If to lister
whether he was detected. The lonl
expected burglar had come.
Constance tainted silently ON the sofa
The colonel. in whom the presence o
danger had awakened his fighting in
stinct, rose from his seat and grpped hi
way noiselessly toward the intruder
whom he could not see. He could b,
this time hear the scoundrel's hreatl
coming and going and instinct prompte,
him to hold his own. He woulS hav
given worlds for weapon, but his can
was ont of reach sHe must give BATH
with his bare hands against one VIII
probably had both pistol and knife. \
he reflected the intrudor's foot came int
oo,tfaaf with a efr,1 Tho colonel hos
itated no longer; with a sudden spIin
he was upon the invader. He ha
thrown his weight into the spring an
felled the burglar 10 the ground fac
downward. Then, swiftly seizmg hi
wrists, he held them in a.grip Of iror
twisted the arms upward and sat dow
on his back.
The burglar struggled, evidently stri'
ing 10 free one hand 10 use his knit,
but the colonel was now fighting for HI
life. His clutch OF the wrists did not +,
lax. When the struggle grew weakS
and Pithlado had got bacl, his breath ]
hissed
You villain. II You don't keep yoJ
hands still, I'll drive my knife throug
your vitals one motion and you are
dead man,
The burglar made no reply, He epante
and sounds came from him which
Riblado's eGr sounded strangely like
sob. The colonel derived qualiht
satisfaction from his stiffness. II he hi
dared 70 loose his clutch OF the fellow
wrists he would have tried 20 thrott
him, but the danger Of a stab in the 81,
s. 10 ba rito1aaN hfa hnuHe 10 tho hrrv0sl AZ