The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-13

about an inch, I should think when I
heard a little bit OF scraping on the other
side. and the next instant the dreadfulest
racket that anybody ever heard. the fall
ing Of a dishpan that must have been
hanging on the other side on the door
knob OF the key and at the same time
what j imagine must have been the po-
tatoe masher-I don't know, because /
didn't look for it-dropped from the top
OF the door upon my head
This door to the cellar opened from a
little square hall or entry way that had,
as / learned by feeling, a door TO the
left, 10 the kitchen, 1 suppose, and one TO
the right, i guessed. into the front hall.
/ waited again, but no sound from up
stairs, so / turned to the right and
opened that door. and stumbled the
first thing over chair close in the hall,
and almost broke my shins. / felt along
and found a row OF chairs standing close
together from that door clean to the
front door. / sat down in one OF them
and nursed my shin and waited Still no
sound, and / tried again. and got along
all right this time and turned of TO the
left and into the parlor. and back from
that into the dining room. for a wonder
without falling over anythig, and began
to feel encouraged. But in the dining room
there was nothing but plated spoons
and forks, which of course ! could tell by
the tOuth just as well as though I'd had
an tAdNlAAN AAEAt Il Llfg Mdu any SILVER
they had carried it up stairs, as some
people do at night.
Il turned back into the hall, and CROPPED
my way through that row of chairs to the
foot of the stairs. To make sure of the
first step in the dark 1 stepped high and
stepped right into a pan of water on the
bottom step. That made me mad, but it
didn't make any noise, and I stepped
out of it and started on up. At about the
third step my leg struck a string that
was strung across these stairs, and set
a bell ringing that was hanging on it;
and kicking that string started down on
me from above, lOosened, I suppose, by an
other string tied to the one l had kicked,
a shower of tin pie plates; and / had got
my leg tangled up in some way in the
string across the stairs, and as l strug-
gled to get free the bell kept on ringing
and the pie plates rafting and presently
1 fell over wash boiler that had been
set on the stairs a step or two up, and
brought that down on me.
LAS I was foundering around in the
tinware and strings and bells and things
1 heard children's voices upstairs, and a
minute later heard steps in the hallway
above. and 1 could see in the blackness
up there the white of a nightgown at
the head of the stairs Then something
came slamming against the banisters,
hitting me as it ratified down and finally
landing with a great bang on the floor
among the chairs in the hall. The minute
he threw it, whoever he was, he ran. and
/ began to think it was about time for me
TO go too. I had freed myself from the
bellcord by this time and / got down the
stairs and into the hall again, and there
this time / STEPPED on a base ball bat-that
was what had come banging down at me
from above-that rolled out from under
me and upset me once more among those
chairs.
Il got up and opened the front door-it
wasn't locked-and got out on the piazza
Before | had got to the top front step |
heard a horn blowing from an upstairs
window on the side of the house, and an
Instant later a shot from revolver and
a big bell ringing. There was late moon
just rising and a little light now. and as
/ went away l looked back and saw three
children all in white, all leaning out of
one window on the second story. On one
side there was a boy of about IA. as l
should guess by that light, firing a pistol
He was the boy, no doubt that had thrown
the base ball bat. On the other side was
his younger brother with a good pair of
lungs blowing a fish horn about as long
as bean pole, and in the middle was
their little sister swinging big bell with
both hands; and take 'em altogether they
were making a great deal of noise
Il didn't wait to inquire about it, but
it was just as simple as rolling off a log.
The children's parents had had to go
away somewhere over night, sickness or
something, and had left the children
alone. The young folks had forgot to
lock the doors, but there really wasn't
any necessity of locking 'em, with such
a burglar alarm system as that"