Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1895-07-10

| bottle OF old burgundy, which nae
been opened the day before.
"Now, really" ho prattled, 'I'mi
veTy harmless man five mouths out Of
ski never steal unless other meana
fail, or q tatlor's bill comes due. I'm .
respectable citizen and-a church
member In good standing whom I'm
not on one Of my professional tours.
1 took up burglary more As q resource
than from necessity. Candidly speak.
ing, now, am I a ruffian?"
"Nol" I replied, looking directly
at him. "On the contrary, you are ?
very fnslooktng man."
A glow of vanity spread over hi
face. Ipoured out q glass of the Bur
gundy and pushed it toward him.
England to Walesl" he cried with
gallantry. 81 don't generally drink, "
he added, "but these crackers make
ne thirsty"
"IfT could only find q wife suited
to my tastes" he mused, ''such .
woman as you are. by Georgei TG
give up aesthetic burglary and settle
down to quiet domestic bliss" He
looked questioninsly at me. 'If"-
he hesitated-'you could be sure ]
would abandon my profession--would
you-do you think you could-con
lone my past and--marry me?"
THAT is matter for consideration
replied.
He helped himself to another cracker.
"Your proposal is SO startlingly uni
que, I continued, Ito marry onei
burglar! Really it is quite q joke"
"Isn't it?" he chuckled, evidently
enjoying the idea of the oddity. 1--WE
are kindred spirits!" he exclaimed,
convivially, but was interrupted by .
violent fit of coughing.
Selling the bottle Of Burgundy, b,
drained the only drop or two left.
81 think, maybe, there's another
bottle down in the cellar" cried,
artlessly. "1'll 60 down and see-1
feel thirsty myself"
1--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 eel
ar steps.
We descended the steps chatting
pleasantly-he discoursing on matri.
mony, 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 num-
Der, each large enough to hold quar-
ter of top of coal. Before the furth
,st one I I.aused.
"Here," said, sis the brand we ar.
looking for" / raised the heavy lid
and looked in. 81 will hold the can
Hell observed; will you get the
bottle? I can hardly reached it."
He handed me the candle and bent
low over the bin. Hs! hal Quicker
than flash Of lightning tripped up
his heels lhe was easily overbalanced),
and into the bin he fell headlong.
Down came the heavy lid. But there
was no paddock on it. I must hurry I
Blowing out the candle, ran, for I
knew the way, straight to the cellar
steps and up them-like cat. Then
with locked door between myself and
ny burglar, I could breathe.
heard the man kicking about down
below, for Of course he got out of the
bin at once. But our cellar is q laby-
-inth. Seizing fathers old gun from
its resting place IN the hall, I sat down
near the door at the head Of the stairs,
waiting for the worst.
The door was fairly strong-that l
Snew; but he was a powerful man. So
dragged heavy table from the sit
ting room and placed it against il.
Suddenly I became conscious that 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.
Brscing myself against the opposite
wall, I raised the old gun, and, delib-
srately aiming it, waited.
He began by pounding with botl
lists on the door, but, not receiving
any answer, he tried threats. An in
5tinct seemed to tell him I would re-
main on guard.
His language, I must confess, whit
christening, was not abusive. 1t was,
in fact, incredibly elegant for burg
lar, and strictly grammatical.
All at once there came a crash, fol.
lowed by the creaking Of heavy timber,
and the door fell. Down he came on
top of it, sprawling at my feet on the
floor. I 1raised my gun and fred.
"Hit him ?" interrupted.
NO." replied Miss Gwynne; ''her~
in the wall Of the dining-room the bul.
let lodged. and is still there"
The next thing I was conscious O.
vas Mrs. Grifiths bending over me,
and her husbands voice exclaiming
"He'd never have escaped il we had
aot 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. Drat himl"
raised myself on my elbow and
looked eagerly about.
"He had no time to carry of o
thing" said Mrs. Griffths.
Twould like to set my eyes on him. >.
I remarked. when Miss Gwynne had
concluded her story. "You are q dis
tinguished woman and are-I believe
the very first one who ever received
An offer of marriage from o burglar. {"
Tae lady smiled "Do You not re-.
member reading about the capture Of
q notorious bank robber, several years
ago? The case created quite sensa-
tion, owing partly to the difficulty in
tracing the thief, who was clever
enough to puzzle the most expert de-
tectives and evade the police, and alsa
to tho responsibility Of his position.
No one could believe him guilty"
Indeed I do remember IT," I An
swered. ''Not only that. but I saw
the man after he was in prison ]
happened to be going through Cheste.
Jail at the time and - was pointed
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