Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-12-10
THE RETIRED BURGLAR.

An Adventure Showing That Live Wom-
| an Is More to Be Dreaded Than a Ghost.
cat 2 o'clock one morning" said the
retired burglar, 81 was in a good sized
second story back bedroom in COM
Portable old house in country town in
Massachusetts. The bed in this room
was empty, but the clothes were turned
back, and the bed had evidently been
occupied. 1t stood in the rear corner
farthest from the door, with the head
board against the rear wall and the
side Of the bed about q foot or SO away
from the side wall At the foot of the
| bed against the side wall, about in the
middle OF that side of the room and
right opposite the door, stood the bu
reau. Between it and the footboard it
self there was q space of perhaps q foot,
maybe foot and o half, enough for
anybody to pass through comfortably.
Il stood now in front of the bureau.
I had set nay lamp down on top of it
and had just opened the top drawer
when something prompted me to look
up into the mirror. In that mirror |
saw, dim, but clear enough, the refec-
ton of ghost in the hall. There was
faint light in the hall, just little
from a lamp standing on table near
the front end, and by that light, when |
turned to look, I saw the ghost. 1t was
moving from the rear Of the house to-
ward the front, along the hall, a little
nearer to the side 1 was on than to the
other, and moving slowly, like q stage
ghost. 1t was tall and spare and all i'll
white, with something white over its
head. It moved slowly across the door
and disappeared. After it had gone
stood there, with my back to the bu
reau, staring at the doorway.
ga moment later it reappeared, NOV
ing now toward the rear of the house,
and this time nearer still to my side of
the hall. 1t was moving slowly, as be-
fore, but instead of passing by it turned
toward my doorway when it came OPP
posite to it and came in over the sill
and moved slowly across the room
straight toward me. Nearer and nearer,
and I couldn't move until something
told mel wondered why it hadn't come
to me before-that the ghost was a sleep
walker. 1t was woman. This was her
room, and she was coming back where
she belonged.
''Of course I felt a little easier then,
but / wanted to get away, and thought
I should soon be able to, for l supposed,
of course, that she was making for the
bed, and the idea that she would do
anything but go to the front of the bed
and get in there, like any other human
being, never entered my head. While
she was coming across the room l had
sort Of involuntarily backed into that
gap between the corner of the bureau
and the footboard of the bed. | stood
there looking at her while she was still
coming straight across toward the bu-
reau, never doubling that she would
turn in time and go to the front of the
bed, and she did turn and move III that
direction, but when she got pretty near
to the other corner of the foOtboard
from where | was she turned again and
started toward the gap that L was
standing i'll, evidently with the inten-
tion of going around to the back OF the
bed between it and the wall and getting
in on that side. That last three or four
feet along the footbOard she seemed to
glide as smooth as ever, but quicker
than lightning, I in the way and too
scared to move. She was awake the in
slant she touched me and screaming like
mad woman, and 1 was awake then,
my friend, finally, and clawlng across
that he'd to b window there was at the
head Of it / cleaned that window out,
blinds and all, with one sweep OF the
jimmy and jumped. New York Sun.