The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1893-03-25
Copyright, 1893. by
the Author.f

oicss you, ne wouldn have taken Mrs
Jones at all il she had bee
youngish and the least good-lookinl
The Fl rst thing he asked her was II ali
took in ladies. He couldn't dream I
taking lodgings there If
"eh! nenr no, sir" he was prompt
assure d, with a twinkle of fun In AR:
Jones optical organ y never take n
ladies; the re too troublesome. Min
's only for gentlemen"
On which Mr.. Barnet permitted hin
self to be shown the front hHfior AM
b hrst-aeer bark loom, let with i
fer a tedfoon. Mrs. Jones marched
IN, throwing back the coverlet to show
that the bedding was spotlessly clean
but her invitation to '.Step in, cir, asc
see for yourself" had the reverse
effect for the old gentleman, who ha;
peeped timidly in, backed out blushine
and stammering: Thank you, ma'su
-er-yes, yes; / see. thank ro"' y.
quite nice"
Tina. irving ordeal got through, he
tsred round on two doors clearly be.
longing to two front rooms and in.
quired what they were and rrh1
lodged there. Mrs. Jures answered:
This door Sir, next here, is a sit,
hng-room, and that is the slip-rooM Ia
oedroomI. A young man has them
two rooms Most quiet-be' aved, re-
spectacle young man he is, SIR"
"Ah-h'm. hope so. ma'am, | hope
so. / could not remain where my very
next neighbor was ~irregularly conduct
cd, You know"
"Oh, no, sir but that amt Mr.. Wei
by. He don't interfere with nobody"
The old bachelor trok the apart
ments. Before long, being of course
ten tirnes more curious than n wom-
Gil, he soon managed to encounter his
next-room neighbor in the passage.
He was n distinguishing Young fell
low, who stood aside for the old gem
tle'"an with a polite Good morning."
and then ran lightly upstairs.
by Jove! what n queer old party it
is, Mrs. Jones'" said he that evening.
Looks to a T the awful piece of pro-
priety you said. Hal ha!-you didn't
tell him what l ann"
Law, sir-no! He'd fly out of his
skin, let alone the house. How are YOU
getting on. sire" asked the landlady.
'Oh, first-rate, Mrs. Jones / shall
o have all perfected and / think the
entertainment will be a success"
Mr.. Barnet was appallingly regular
in all he did: the routine of one day
was, with the rarest variation, the
routine of every day. He was the most
to-be-pltied creature-a bachelor of
moderate e and no occupation.
For a whole fortnight Mr.. Barnet
busted himself trying to find what that
next-room tenant did for his living.
BY dint of a score of devices known to
the curious, he discovered that young
Welby anne in and out ut all hours. |
As all was comparatively quiet in the
front room in the evening he fondly
took it that the tenant thereof not only
came home to tea, but stayed at home
Studying till an early bedtime.
Really, a most properly conducted
young man." said Mr.. Barnet to him.
self one evening at about the end of a
fortnight.
Alas for his premature approval;
only W. evenings later it was some
what disturbed. He heard young
Welby come in alone; but instead of
there being only slight movements
overhead there was something of a
The table and chairs
moved about Then the lodger
walked about noisily and the
deep mutterings OF his voice penetrated
TO the puzzled listener below. Good
gracious. was he talking to himself,
to Mrs. Jones or to whom? Was il
possible that any other than Mrs. Jo-
No, mo-; the thought was too awful. 1t
quite took Mr.. Barnet's breath. Be
sides, he would nave heard the most
footstep or rustic of feminine
garments, as his door was ajar. 1t al
ways was, by the by. Why. there was
Toung Welby going out. Yes, the door
hut; and what was more, it hadn't
opened again to that young man at ten
This was really looking serious, and
ir. Barnet pursed his respectable lips I;
IS he slowly retired TO his dormitory-c
IuIte a quarter of an hour late. I
II shall just lie awake and watch"
nuttered the old gentleman as he got
pto bed, which was next the thin {
wall. 'If that young scamp .
S going to-ahem-keep all sorts of c
improper hours-really, anything might I
Iappen next, and nv character be COM t
But Morpheus was not to be so easily I
luded, and Mr.. Barnet dozed for a I
Did half hour. He was awakened by S
burst of laughter from the sitting I
next his apartment Mr.. Barnet t
at up, rubbing his eyes. utterly indig- L
ant at such nocturnal orgies. He had q
ldeed actually raised his hand to give c
n angry knock at the wall, when a o
broke on his ear which made the s.
,mainiug hairs IN his respectable old f.
stand on end with horror. I,
A silvery feminine laugh and voice c.
that next roomi o.
There was no mistake about it; no IL
sordered nightmare or half-waking Il
ncy in the matter. A giddy laugh o!
i'd a pretty voice, that said saucily HI
ID very distinctly: a
My dear fellow, of course / know 10
are dead gone on my little self, but di
"'oh, my, fe for shame. al
What will your wife say in
What will your wife ssyy" re
This adaptation of an out of-date &C
lsic-hall song was sung, and MI. tn
'rnet fell back on the pillows gasp re
2 for breath. ca
Then came Wefby's stiHed laugh br
ain and his voice delightedly: an
That's fine, Dottie. my love, What tn
boom we shall make Of the affair at ne