The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-06-18

your nearest neighbors?"
"a mile and n quarter There ls only
one house in three niles, except one or
two old deserted ones"
And do you two always live here
alone2"
No; most of the time we have hlreo
man"
II should thing you would be dread
fully lonesome. Aren't you afraid
sometimes?"
we never think OF Il. You know we
have always lived here. This In SO nat
ural TO us as Ftchburg or New Haven
is to you.'
In reality you may be safer here.
Sometimes burglars make calls there"
We had burglar here once"
] begged to here the story.
1t was when my father and mother
were living" said the young woman.
They had started that day for Nor
wich, taking me with them for a short
visit at my uncle's. / was little girl
then and my brother Joe, who is now in
college, was only IL years old. He was
never given to frightening himself with
things that did not happen and he
rather enjoyed being left alone as a man
of the house with grandma over night
III tHe uiluuie VI lue nlBnI ne Wakeu
and thought he heard grandma in the
kitchen. He knew 1t would be of no use
to call and ask IL she was i'll, for she
was as deaf then as she Is now SO he
Jumped out of bed and came right out
here into this room A few Goals left in
the fireplace made dim light He was
surprised to find no one here. Soon he
noticed that one Of the windows had
been left open. Then he saw that the
button was turned from the closet door.
The door moved slightly. He spurng
with his whole force against 1t and
turned the button"
Good for little Joev' exclaimed.
1T had been still since he first
moved" she continued, but there was
noise enough now. l am telling him
what rumpus the burglar made when
he found himself in Joe's lookup" said
she, turning to her grandmother who
could hear very little but was watch
ing my countenance while l listened.
Dear mel" said the old lady, II never
was so frightened. l walked up and
was sure there was great noise some
where. My first thought was that some
of the creatures were loose in the barn
Then l heard man yelling and 1
couldn't think what on earth had hap
pened! When caught the sound Of lit
tie Joe's voice In the kitchen came out
as quick as l could get here. l couldn't
see anybody but him, but he seemed to
be holding a lively discussion with some
one.
Shut up your noise he shouted.
hush! said l. Whom are you talking
to like that?' Then l heard somebody
roar, Let me out of this, youngster, or
I'll break every bone in your body
You'll break your own bones If you
don't stop that kicking says Joe, as
saucy as could be for all my hushing.
I'm the morning we hailed the first
man driving by and asked for his help.
We found the door still buttoned but
could not get any answer. When we
turned the button the fellow dropped
all in a heap on the floor apparently
dead. The burglar revived after while
but not till little Joe and his helper
had bound him securely"
He had escaped from prison." said
Carrie, "and had been hiding In the
woods. He saw father drive away and
when he found that he did not return,
he thought there was a good chance to
get disguise to wear instead of his
striped prison suit. But he is wearing
that still. Joe saw him not long ago
in one of the prison shops at Wethers-
field. where he is serving out long
sentence"
Soon afterwards as / rose to go to
my room, the grandmother said:
II hope the story of Joe's burglar
won't affect you as it did Pat, our hired
man. When he first came here he no.
tlced the peculiar construction of the
closet and I told him "a ahnnt Tna'1 adVpn-
ture. He declared the next morning
that he didn't sleep, but a couple o.
three wlnks all night"
Il shall sleep all the more soundly,"
said I. Nothing will disturb me-"
But l was mistaken; something did
disturb me. l had been dreaming that
l held a door against a man who was
trying to push his way into a room and
that another one had just fired a re-
volver through window at Carrie. My
dream and the story 1 had heard be-
fore / went to bed were mixed In my
mind as l was reused by the careful
moving of door.
Half asleep | rolled out of bed and
reeled into the dark kitchen. Bang went
a chair on the floor while a knock on
the shins, with the noise, brought me
to my senses A quick heavy step
started from the other end of the room,
and, with a rush, some one sprung up
on me. He was powerful man, but
Yale athletics served a good purpose.
Some wild passes were made on both |
sides in the dark, but there were others
that were not wasted.
How we did hustle around that old
kitchen. Chairs, tins, pans and every
thing movable tumbled about and made
terrible din But science tells, and
soon had him at a disadvantage, though
he struggled hard and we fell against
a sharp corner 1t was the closet. In a
twinkling l had the door OPEN Before |
ne knew it, I swung him around, when |
a sudden charge backed him against |
the wall. Instantly the door slammed |
and turned tho. big button.
Another burglar was prisoner In |
the lookup.
BY this time there were voices some- |
where and a light began to shine. l |
suddenly realized that / had not been |
fighting in armor, and at the first pros
Y,a1f nf ttfua n diarafg annpnanb I 20 >,