The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1893-02-18
THE BURGLAR.

S"A' o'oh
keeper for the prosperous grocery house
of Ham, Bacon, Lard & Co. To guard
against burglars, he cultivated IN &C.
quaintance with the policemen who
alternated on the beat and dropped mys-
ferrous hints Of munificent rewards in
case they caught a burglar in the act.
He had a burglar alarm in his bedroom
and a shotgun, from which Mrs. Tim.
minis was in the habit of withdrawing
cartridges for fear he should shoot him |
self.
Many a s~leepless night he spent in
providing about the house in the dark in
quest of some intruder whose f~ootstep
he thought he heard. He read every ar
ticle in the newspapers about burglaries,
and surprised his wife and niece by the
extent and accuracy of his information
touching the methods Of the fraternity.
He plunged them into depths of despair
by declaring that he knew it was his des-
tiny to wake up some morning and find
the house robbed and Constance's throat
cut.
Constance was 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 and
died, leaving an estate of which the
value was unknown. She WAS a CO
quette, and had a host of admirers who
seldom commanded the approval Of her
uncle or aunt. If they were young
Uncle Ezra said they were ships and
ought to be in the nursery. If they were
old, he said they should be in some old
peoples home. Constance laughed at
his invectives, and when her uncle for
babe this or that man the house she met
him elsewhere, if he had taken her fancy,
Among the admirers who could not
fairly be condemned to the nursery was
Colonel Pitblado. He had met Constance
at Il 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 a~ssiduity with which he pur.
Re sued her afterward it may be inferred
i that the result of the investigation had
been satisfactory.
Much to his annoyance Constance MOI
H. only did not ask him to the house, but
begged as d favor that he would no
- come; at any rate for the present.
you see, Colonel Pitblado," said she
ii have rather taken a fancy to yo,
and ! don't want to lose you, Now, IN,
uncle, who is the best man in the world
invariably takes a dislike to people VIII
pay me attention. have Il presentimen
that if you came to the house he woul'
quarrel with you, and that would be tn
end of our acquaintance"
The colonel argued, but it was Of n
avail, The only concession which Con
stance would make was that now an
then, say onc a week, she would leav
the door open after her uncle had gon
to bed, and the colonel might slip in an
spend a few minutes with her in the dar
in the hall or in the drawing room.
Il know" she said, that you are tc
much of a gentleman to make me regre
my good nature; anyway | think ! ca
take care of myself"
The ~colonel's behavior was beautiful
His speech was eloquent on the subjet
of his love, but he rarely venturcG eve
to press the fingers of his charmer /
they sat side by side on the sofa.
There they sat one night, and Coz
\ stance, in a subdued voice, was explain
ing her uncle's extraordinary terror
burglars.
Has he ever been robbed" asked Il
colonel.
II believe that when he was a chi
burglars broke into the house where
was living and killed one of the inmate
m He was Weakened out of bed by the sour
M of the shot, and he has never got ov
N the shock"
Il can quite understand it," repli'
the colonel. There is something peer
iarly terrifying in a midnight encou
70 ter with a man whom you cannot sc
IN and who has everything to gain and lit
.u. to lose by taking your life"
"Ohr' cried Constance, the thong
fills me at times with such horror tina
ICH am as afraid of burglars rs my unc
/ think that if | saw one in my room
to would die of fright"
"p' Il hope" said the colonel laughir
that | would not show the VIII
- feather. But | must say | do not hank
to meet a burglar in the flesh"
If At hat moment a slight noise W
heard outside the drawing room do'
e a 1t was the ~faintest possible creak Of
and weak flooring plank under Il tread. Be
NJ the tenants of the sofa looked up Il
. held their breath, with ears on the f
out strain. Another board creaked and pr
emily, after IL wait which seemed to /;
for ages, the acute ears of the coiol
%, detected a muffied tread on the carpet
e the room in which they sat. There W
e a third party in the room. He was sh
2 with wool and was moving n~oiseles
e and occasionally stopping as if to list
whether he was detected. The 10
- expected burglar had come.
Constance tainted silently on the so
Is The colonel, in whom the presence
a danger had awakened his fighting
stinct, rose from his seat and CROPPED
So way noiselessly toward the intrud
whom he could not see. He could
- this time hear the scoundrels bre;
= coming and going, and instinct prompt
-. him to hold his own. He would hi
e given worlds for a weapon, but his CT
g was out Of reach. He must give bal
8 with his bare hands against n v
e probably had both pistol and knife.
z he reflected the intruder's foot came i
- contact with a stool. The colonel
itated no longer; with Il sudden spr
s he was upon the invader. He
"A thrown his waioht into the Snrinp :