The Cape Girardeau Democrat., 1895-08-31


wear his Oldest coat. and his most COM
Portable slippers. There is conserva.
tory at the end OF the lawn, and here
the high fence ends There is also a
little sub-back yard filed with tall
trees which shut out the view from the
road. Around this minor back yard
the fence is only four feet high.
This minute description of my estate
Is necessary for understanding the ex.
citing times l had during the days !
stayed at home and attempted to dc
Some writing in the quietness of my
own back yard.
found that the fence was a great
temptation to every passer-by. The
small boy, if he had a stick in his
hand, liked to run it along the boards
or beat the stick against them as he
passed along. This was annoying, and
l sometimes shouted to him to stop his
racket, but I merely received in return
a number of personal remarks which,
1t is not too much to say, were dis
tinctly insulting, considering tie fact
that the speaker was entirely anable
to see the person to whom he was
! speaking.
Therefore, as I am of the kind OF
person to whom experience teaches
! something, | ceased to eXpOstulate
verbally with the small bar'Nyith his
stick. l stole quietly around into the
sub-back yard and waited for him
beside the low fence. He always
came along quite unconscious of dam
! ger, for l was well concealed by the
| brick wall of the conservatory, and
always succeeded in snatching his cap.
He usually jumped to the middle of the
road in his surprise before he realized
| that he had to negotiate for the re-
turn of his cap. l made him give his
the most abject fashion before /
returned his headgear. He was usual
ly the butchers delivery boy or the
lad from the grocery. threatened to
turn the police upon him, or what was
worse, to go to his master and COM
plain; and l think that l do not
flatter myself when l say that
during the time l stayed at home, I
had a distinctly moral effect on the
not sass" you when you have his cap
in your hands, for he is, if l may put
it that way, handicapped in the con-
trOversy.
| soon found, however, that there
was a more Objectionable small boy
than the one who raped at the fence.
This was the boy generally there were
two of them), who rang the electric
bell at the back gate. He then ran
around the corner and appeared to be
amused at the blank look of the serv-
ant as she gazed up and down the
street trying to discover who had
called her unnecessarily from her
work.
One afternoon heard the prolonge ed
ring of the bell and then the rapid
footsteps of two urchins as they
ran along the walk outside of the
fence, and SO l thought the time had
come to teach these youngsters a
lesson. l slipped silently down the
lawn, under the trees, into the shadow
of the greenhouse, and peered cautious
ly over the fence, so that they might
not see me. There the two young
villains stood close to me and craning
their necks to see who opened the
garden door. l heard the click of the
latch as the garden entrance
was opened, and then the
two ragamuffins, with many giggles,
backed closer to the fence so the serv-
ant could not see them. They were SO
preoccupied in watching danger from
one direction that they did not see the
real calamity that lowered near them.
Before they were aware of it my two
hands dropped down on them, as it
were from the skies, and l had firm
clutch of each by the back of his col |
lar. Talk about the pleasures of hook
ing n salmon, it is nothing at all to the |
excitement of catching an energetic |
small boy and getting a good firm hold |
of the collar of his coat. For the next |
two minutes 1 had all 1 could do. They |
squirmed and wriggled, and kicked at |
the fence, threw themselves down, and |
did every mortal thing they could think |
Of in trying to escape, but l held on.
and finally it dawned on them that
they were nabbed. Then the elder said |
defantly:
Say, mister, if you don't let me go
I'll yell for a policeman"
yell" l answered; that's just what
I want you to do, and when the police
man comes I'll be very glad to hand
you over to him"
Now the boys, if they had only
known it, were perfectly within their
legal rights in calling a policeman.
and if a policeman had been called 1
don't know how l could have justi-
led my own action. was COM
hitting an assault on them for an
Dffense 1 had not seen them commit,
md which, perhaps, was not punishable
Dy the law if there had been witnesses.
was taking the law and the young
.ascals into my own hands, which is
not a thing to be permitted. However,
here was, as a matter of course, no
policeman in sight, and l thought
would chance it. hauled the light
.r of the two boys over the fence,
while the other wriggled and strug-
.led to escape. 1t was no easy task
yetting the youngster over, for he
,lawed and fought like a cat. but at
asst l had him on my side and then
putting him on the ground with my
DOT on him to hold him down turned
ny attention and both hands to the
hnT I'd l,,l L., | ,