People's voice., 1894-09-07
A RETIRED BURGLARS STORY.
A Curious Happening in a House in a
Pennsylvania Town.

A Curious Happening in House in a
Pennsylvania Town.
81 think that about as curious an
experience as | ever had" said re-
tired burglar to a New York Sun
man, Il had in a town in Western
Pennsylvania. | had got into a fine,
big house there without very much
trouble. and had found things when
| got inside about as | had expected
to find them. There was some silver
in the dining-room, and | uipped a
few little things that | could get
into my Overcoat pockets handlly,
but | had other things in mind and |
went on into the next room, which
turned out to be the library. As |
threw my light around this room |
saw on table in the center maga-
zine open and lying face downward.
picked up this magazine and turned
my bull s-eye on il, and saw that it
was open at the beginning of the
story. The title caught my eye and
stood there for a moment with the
magazine in one hand and the bulls
eye in the other, and read few lines;
1t seemed to be nightly interest
ing story. Whoever had been read
ing the magazine had sat in q big
leather chair, which still remained
alongside the table. / sat down in
this big chair, stood the bull's-eye
on the table at my elbow, where its
light would strike the pages, and be-
gan to read, and became so inter-
ested that forgot that | was there
on business.
Il don't know how long | had been
reading, may be twenty minutes or
so, when | felt a hand on my right
shoulder. | looked up and saw
standing alongside OF me tall man
in dressing gown. He had a lamp
in his right hand he had touched
me with his left, and that hand still
remained on my shoulder. He looked
down upon me coolly. confess
that as far as was concerned was
surprised, and when he asked ME
what | was doing there | was at
first actually too fabbergasted to
reply, but finally told him [ was
reading story in that magazine.
tie asked me what story was read
ing and told him. | thought saw
just the faintest flicker of a smile on
his face at that, but | couldn't be
certain about it.
"'What doyou thing ofit?' says he.
al had come back to myself BY
this time, and told him l thought
he ought to be able to see what |
thought of it himself; that l was
interested in 1t enough to let him
come down and find me there read
ing it, but that l wouldn't UNDER
take to say what l thought about it
absolutely until l had finished read
Ing IL
"'Well,' says the man, don't let
me interrupt you. Go ahead and
finish it,
''l-e was looking perfectly calm
and cool. just.as he had been when
first looked up at him. He set his
lamp down on the table by the bulls
eye and pulled up a big chair him
self on the other side, and got en-
other chair to put his feet on; he had
only slippers on and | suppose he
thought his feet would be cold on
the floor He sat down in the big
chair, put his feet upon the other
and pulled his dressing gown up
around his legs, making himself
quite comfortable. Then he picked
up book off the table and went 10
reading, while he waited for me to
hnlsh the story. When | haG fin
ished it the man said:
"'Well, what do you think of it
now?'
And told him. ana that's what |
did think about it, that thought it
was immense.
"The man laid down his book and
got upon his feet again. He picked
up his lamp and stood there for a
moment holding it and looking at
me. He said nothing, but it was
perfectly clear to me that he was
about politely to bow me out OF the
house. | laid down the magazine
and picked up my bull's-eye. and
moved toward the door just as |
might have done II | had been a
guest. The tall man opened the
door and calmly bowed me out As
| went down the steps | heard him
bolting the door after me.
"You know | wondered who he
could be, but when | came to End
out, wondered that | hadn't thought
of it myself before; he was the man