The Yale expositor., 1895-03-15
TIE RETIRED BURGLAR.
An Adventure showing That n 1--we
Woman Is More 40 he Dreaded
Than n Ghost.


An Adventure showing That a 1--we
Woman Ii More 40 he Dreaded
Than n Ghost.
eat o'clock one morning" said the
retired burglar to the New York Sun
man, 81 was in a good-sized second
story back bedroom in a comfortable
old house in a country town in Massa-
chusettS. 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 a 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
bureau; between 1t and the footboard
itself there was space of perhaps a
foot, maybe a foot and half, enough
for anybody to pass through conform
bly,.
Il stood now in front of the bureau.
/ had set my lamp down on top of 1t
and had just opened the top drawer
when something prompted me to look
up into the Mirror In that mirror l
saw, dim, but clear enough, the retiec-
ton OF Il ghost in the hall. There was
a faint light in the hall, just little
light from lamp standing on a table
near the front end, and by that light,
when turned to look, i saw the ghost.
1t was moving from the rear or the
house toward the front, along the hall,
little nearer TO the side i was on than
to the other and moving slowly, like a
stage ghost 1t was tall aud spare and
all in white. with something white over
its head. 1t moved slowly across the
door and disappeared. After 1t had
gone / stood there with my back TO
the bureau, staring at the doorway.
"a moment later 1t 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
before, but instead Of passing by IT.
turned toward my doorway when 1t
came opposite to 1t and came in over
the sill and moved slowly across the
room straight toward me; nearer and
, nearer, and couldn't move until some
thing told mel wondered why Ii
ghost was sleep walker. 1t was Il
woman: this was her room, and she
was coming back where she belonged.
"Of course i felt a little easier than,
but / wanted to get away and /
thought l 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 had sort OF involun-
tarily backed into that gap between
| the corner of the bureau and the foot
board of the bed. | stood there look
| ing at her while she was still coming
straight across toward the bureau,
| never doubling that she would turn In
time and go to the front of the ped.
! and she did turn and move in that di-
rection, but when she got pretty nesa'
TO the other corner of the footboard
| from where | was she turned again
| and started toward the gap that l was
| standing in. evidently with the inten-
ton 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 rs ever,
but quicker'n lightning. and l In the
way and too scared to move. She was
awake the instant she touched me and
screaming like n mad woman, and l
was awake then, my friend, finally,
and. clawing across that bed to n win
dow there was at the head Of 1t. /
cleaned that window out, blinds and
all. with one sweep of the jimmy and
jumped"