The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-05-04
HUNTING A BURGLAR.
THE EXCITING EXPERIENCED sF A
GRAND RAPIDS MAN.

path-An Unreasonable Wife.
1T is dreadful to be suddenly awak-
ened at night by a large, coarse burglar
without any innate refinement. ''sail the
Union street resident, land whei my
wife awoke me Thursday night, aud in
of those whispers women invariably
use after the lights are ont, and which
always a mans backbone to crawl
up behind his ears. told me she waasure
there was a burglar in the house, ( re-
member requesting her to go downand
refer him to the Charity Organization
society, because / was sure to get the
grip If I left my warm bed and vent
parading around the house without top
ping to put on anything but d defiant
expression"
Ibid she goa''
"She did not, although I explained to
her that If she would merely step down
stairs and speak to the burglar In aeon
ciliatory way he would probably go
away quietly, and there would b no
trouble. / told her that If I should sud
denly come face to face In my own house
with a crude, uncouth robber who had
not been invited there, and who had no
letters of introduction, my fiery temper
would probably get the better OF me,
and there would be an awful hand to
hand struggle, which would like enough
inspire In me such a fiendish longing
for warm, red blood that / would thrash
around for weeks afterward killing re-
spectacle people on sight. / have al
ways striven for a higher mission in
life than to 60 around shooting large,
ragged holes through the vitals of my
fellow men, and for that reason j ex-
planned to my wife how even q burglar
might have loved ones dependent upon
him for support, and that life was prob
ably just as dear to him as IL Is to a
member of congress.
But You can't talk any sense into q
woman's head after she has become
imbued with the idea that there are
burglars In the house, and at length,
rather than have any trouble over the
matter, I arose, and grasping a revolver
and lighting my boys dark lantern
started ont to find that burglar and ex-
plain to him that he must have been mis-
led by the number on the door and got
into the wrong house. / did not go
down on a gallop, because I preferred
to give the housebreaker a chance to
realize his danger and escape with his
life while there was yet time. Nfseemed
harsh aud unfeeling to coldly shoot a
man to death when I did not even know
what ward he voted in, and 90 I slam
med things around and created consld-
cradle disturbance ON the way down
stairs.
rur rh ul4 2y ssa RaafF tpe od a0 fas nat Rstr saa
without finding o burglar and was Just
on the point of returning mp stairs to
consult with my wife as to whether she
cared to have the parlor carpet mussed
up with his blood il I should find him
when ! caught a glimpse Of a form
robed in a long ulster start back from
the landing and dash mp stairs. My
first impulse was to let the burglar stay
up there If he cared to. because / could
have got along on the ground floor
well enough the remainder of the night,
and | do not want to seem inhospifable
to any one, but / realized that it was my
duty to protect my family, and | took
after him. Well, sir, / had no idea there
was 80 much fun in merrily romping
around the house with a burglar after
business hours. We made the first cir
cult OF my family residence within 10
seconds, and though 1 could not focus
the dark lantern quickly enough to get
q good look at the housebreaker / could
tell by his hoarse labored breathing and
the way i'm which he reached out and
covered space that he was a good deal
annoyed by the turn affairs had taken.
II had never seen a burglar act that
way before, and 1t did q good deal to-
ward restoring confidence. 1t seemed to
sang froid and nerve than that had bet
ter go home and take in plain sewing
r&ther than try to exc ont a ~precarious
existence in the midnight marauding
line, and the reflection served to put 90
much boyish zeal and enthusiasm into
my mad pursuit that the hem of the only
garment with n exception that I was
wearing at the time began to fray ont.
On the third lap we plunged heavily
over the baby's crib in the nursery, and
my wife covered up her head in the bed
clothes and screamed, and the dog took
after both Of us, and there was trouble
all around.
"On the next round the burglar gained
q tribe ON me, and when he reached the
kitchen he unbolted the back door and
dashed ont into the night, with a pierre
ing wall, and ! after him. We tore
around the house twice and then down
the sidewalk TO the next house, where
the burglar made q break for the barn
in the rear. / found him covering lin
one corner of o box stall, with hands
appraised, and az / stood over him with
Ieveled revolver the rays Of my trusty
dark lantern revealed q hired girl, wear
ing a wild, hunted look and q dun col
ored robe do mutt made of outing fam
mel.
THAT was all. Silently and with
bowed, uncovered heads the girl and ]
III AZE AR2R AG XA ~ .AWR Ia