The Penn's Grove record., 1895-06-28

veTy harmless man five months out Of
ski never steal unless other mean
fail, or q tailor's bill comes due. TINS
respectable c1tizen and-a church
member in good standing when I'm
not on n Of my professional tours.
I took up burglary more asa resource
than from necessity. Candidly speak
ing, now, am I q rufian?"
'Nol" I replied, looking directly
at him. son the contrary, you are 2
very fne-looking man."
A glow Of vanity spread over hi
face. Ipoured out a glass Of the Bur
gundy and pushed it toward him.
"England to Walesi" he cried with
~gallantry. 81 don'tgenerary drink"
he added, Shut these crackers make
me thirsty"
"IfT could only find a wife suited
to my tastes," he unused, 'tsuch .
woman as you are, by Georgei I'd
give up aesthetic burglary and settle
down to quiet domestic bliss" He
looked questioningly at me. 'Tf"-
he hesitated-ttyon could BIO sure ]
would abandon my profession-would
you-do you think you could-con
lone my past and--marry me?"
aThat is a matter for consideration
I replied.
ehelpedhimself to another cracker.
"Your proposal is 30 startlingly uni
que, I continued, ssto marty one'g
burglari Really it is quite o Joke"
'1sn't it?" he chuekled, evidently
enjoying the idea of the oddity. 1--WE
are kindred spiritsi" he exclaimed,
convivia1ly, but was interrupted by 0
violent fit Of coughing.
Selling the bottle Of Burgundy, b,
drained the only drop or two left.
IT think, maybe, there's anothe,
bottle down in the cellar" I cried,
artlessly. '1'll go down and sea-l
feel thirsty myself"
"We will descend together" ex,
claimed my burglar, gallantly taking
the candle from my hand and follow
ing me to the door leading to the Gel
ar steps.
We descended the steps chatting
pleasantly-he discoursing on matri.
mony, I answering rather vaguely, but
measuring the distance to the wine
bins by my eye. They were at the far
end Of the cellar, and were five in nam
Der, each large enough to hold q guar
ter of o top Of coal Before the furtb
,st one / Iaused.
"Here," I said, sis the brand we ar,
looking for" / raised the heavy lid
and looked in. 81 will hold the AN
Hell observed; will you get the
,ottlef lean hardly reached It."
He handed me the candle and bent
low over the bin. Hal hal Quicker
than q flash Of lightning I tripped up
his heels the was easily overbalanced],
and into the bin he fell headlcng. |
Down came the heavy lid. But there
was no paddock on it. I must hurryi
Blowing out the candle, / ran, fYr / |
knew the way, straight to the cellar |
steps snd up them-like q cat Then
with a locked door between myself and
ny burglar, I could breathe.
/ heard the man kicking about dc wn
below, for Of course he got out Of the
bin at once But our cellar Is q iaby.
|rinth. Seizing fathers old gun fsom
its resting place mthe hall. I sat down
near the door at the head of the stairs, |
waiting for the worst.
The door was fairly strong-that ]
knew; but he was q powerful man. So
I dragged q heavy table from the sit
ting room and placed 1t against it.
Suddenly ! became oonsciousthat he
nad found his way to the stairs and
was rapidly approaching the door,
which was all that lay between me and
his revengeful fury.
Bracing myself against the opposite
wall, ! raised the old gun, and, delib-
srately aiming it, waited.
He began by pounding with boil
lists on the door, but, not receiving
any answer, he tried threats. An in
stinct seemed to tell him I would re-
main on guard.
His Language, I must confess, w,hils
threatening, was not abusive. 1t Jias,
in fact, incredibly elegant for q burg.
lar, and strictly grammatical.
All at onc there came 4 crash, fol.
lowed by the cresking of heavy timber.
and the door fell. Down he came on
top Of it. sprawling at my feet on the
floor. ] raised my gun and fred.
stHit him Z" I interrupted.
mo-" replied Miss Gwynne; 'hers
in the wall of the dining-room the bnl
let lodged, and is still there"
The next thing / was conscious o.
was Mrs. Grifiths bending over me-
and her husbands voice enchanting
"He'd never have escaped If we had
not left that door opened when we
came In. You see we got home just in
time to hear you fire the gun, and as
we ran in he ran out. Dras himt"
! raised myself on my elbow and
looked eagerly about. 4
he had no time to carry of .
said Mrs. Grifiths.
'TWould like to set my eyes on him.
I remarked, when Miss Qwynne had
her story. 'sYou are q dis
woman and are--I believe
the very first one who aver received
an offer of marriage from 0 burglar.
Tie lady smiled. EDO you not re.
member reading about the capture Of
a notorious bank robber, several years
ago? The case created quite q sensa-
lion, owing partlyto the difficulty in
the thief. who was clever
enough to puzzle the most expert de.
t~ectives and eyade The police, and also
the responsibility Of his position.
No one could believe him guilty"
Indeed I do remember IT," I m
sNot only that, but I saw
the man after he was IN prison. ]
happened to be going through Chester
Jail at the time and J - ives pointed \
mi to 4AdistfdlishA h