Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1896-05-22

rail, ~clambered down tho lattice and
went away as he had come, shutting the
gate behind him.
II felt intensely relieved when he
had gone, and a reaction set in that
composed nay nerves for slumber.
Drowsiness was already approaching
when l was startled ~ soft click
ing or Inc gaze iarcn. II was very un-
likely that thu Same burglar had return
ed and would haNS been extraordinary
if another had come And yet try as
hard as l might 10 reaoon out some 9TH
er possibility there cayne the stcalthy
footsteps OF q thief on the boards Of tho
outer passage. 1 studied this step SO in
tently and analytically that / was GER
tain the intruder was not tho same az
the first. Then l began to wonder what
he would do.
Il was not surprised TO hear him try
the door of the lower porch aud aud it
strongly barred WITHIN, nor greatly to
hear him climb the lattice as tho other
had done. Twas curious to know whcth-
or he would attack the door or the win
dow after he landed on the porch By a
singular coincidence he chose the win
dow. / heard Aim try it and imagined
that he started upC1 discovering that
the latch had beer broken. 1t was evil
dent that upon entering the room no
was surprised and confused to see its
disorder. But he drew a sheet from the
bed, spread it On the floor and proceed
cd to ransack the room. Evidently his
bewilderment increased, and he must
have been discouraged to find SO little
worth taking.
"Ho was not long in completing the
looting Of the room, and then he went
to the door and stood q moment in tho
passage, listening intcntly. After that
he began carefully to descend the stairs.
His conduct th~euceforwaId was exactly
a repetition Of his predecessors. Ho
passed my door, tiuklod the plated sill
in the dining room, left it
alone, returned to the vessibule, stood a
moment listening as my open door, g u
tiously retracod his steps up stairs,
passed through tic window, closed it,
dropped his parcel TO the ground, clam
bered down the lattice and passed out,
closing the gate behind him.
ut may be supposed that the coin
cidences amazed me beyond measure,
This, more than anything else. seemed
to unnerve mo all the more. All this
time / realized ! had been acting the
part of a coward. Merely to have light
ed the gas in my room would have clear
cd the house Of the second burglar, bat
1 had not tho courage to do that.
my alarm and nervousness became
so great that I arose from bed and wa
Just about to strike 4 match with which
to light the gas in the chandelier when
!, l heard the gate latch click for the third
time. Ny match remained innsbruck, and
l listened with a fascinated ~intentness
to this last invasion. IN all particulars
!, il was identical with the second, down
to the point when the burglar descended
the stairs and passed yy open door Oh
his way to the dining room. 10 light
, the gas then would have been to place
the man in a corner and compel him tC
, fight. I realized not only that it is tax.
ing ones life in ones hands to cut of
} burglars retreat before attacking hin
Gas a knowledge Of q chance of escape
diverts his attention from the necessity
lUL SUI hL4CiieI GLA ANAfAo+h MN Nto-Nl
to ovorcomo6 but that / was now in &
condition IN which 1 lacked both the
courage and THO strength TO make the at
tempt.
"Ihe position which I now occupied
in tho ROOM was half way between th(
bed and tho window. a. was SO mucl
nearer the window than before, I coulC
hear sounds from without with mucl
moro distiuctness, While 1 stood there
3 listening 70 the third burglar tinlIle th'
5 plated ware 1 was startled to hear the
gate latch click again and the football o.
a fourth burglar on the board paved
passage. AS he was climbing the lattice
3 a fifth burglar entered the gate, then
r sixth, then others, until burglars in ~
t endless procession were entering my
{ premises and riaing my house on OH
< common and unvarying plan.
at is useless to say that an intelli
@ gent man should not have entertained
0 such an idea for a moment. We know
that l might have reasoned that perhap
o there had been only one, or, at most
two, burglars after all, and that tn
fright which thoy gave me caused me t
3 conjlre up the others from a fear dc
T. ranged imagination. 1t might be profit
O ablo to indulge in a great many othe
speculations on this subject, but III
l truth remains that I could not reason q
t all.
+ "In simple desperation perhaps move
L by a sort Of fascination, l crept to th
t window in order to observe with id
curiosity tho procession Of burglars en-
tering the gate. l turned the Stats Of
u lower blind aud locked ont. Not a sou
visible, aud yet burglars were still poui
ing through the gatel
Il 1.-THE explanation came like a shocl
% ing revelation. The wind was playin
10 with some loose blind stats Immediate
n above my head as L stood there, and OF
" Of that slight and varying sound m
10 imagination had constructed the phaI
d tasy from beginning to end. No burgls
at all had invaded my house. l amUse
r and teasod myself for some time aftel
O. ward by compelling my attention
l. leave the rafting Stats at intervals al
ID fill my house with burglars. "-Sa
no TN.,u,fuco IaD