The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-11

front door step,' he said, viclousty.
bait tSc:buraiar trap afrosb, and whom il was
done he took n late train home. .Hslen met
hin u It the door OF the eottaSs, , and tpr a ter,
through calm gray eyes of self.possessien she
was perilously, near the verge OF hystsr,a.
stay in the city over night"
Lconard's prescience snhpped into position
like a piece Of automatic mechanism.
Then he hns c0meT' he broke In eagerly.
II hn, seen him" asserted Helen. mot
once hut n dozen times. lie hns been up and
to,, u Z street and through the alley. pryiinR
is such II terrible looking rillnin- worse than
anything, you ever saw on the stage.
the fire Of enthusiasm. II hope you diih't do
anything :? scare him on;"
a window. i" Q. please, Harvey, dear give It up
and ring for n policeman"
hr ,GiTs I up, when ia : have only 70 Ss prsss tse
motif I have to- but give mo something 10 eat,
and then tell me what he looks iike.",,
to kitchen. hut Helen clnng nervously To her
huspand's arm all the way, to the coy dining
composure: and. having turned the switches on
the electric blazer and the tea maker. she de.
s sfTiH s%,,s the 4 P SI. s4s.a w ai,s s aSSnS SFa,l lis.snsd
"Heavy-sst and broad. shouldered,' he
unused: that means plenty Of vitality ana
else did you observer"
II couldn'. observe anythi.E, for sheer ter
saw anything like 1t. not even in the news
That's great" said Leonard: this is worth
waiting for. He is evidently. a perfect type.
md IL can once get him safely under the mag
miner III draw you Z picture OF a villain
As II 1 hadn't been G%asping all afts-noon!'
lights are out and have lost siqat Of yen
shall die q hundred deaths a minute till !
knoM, YOU are safe"
posed II by, way of a counter %irritsnt. Il shall
perfectly easy until It rings. The first tap
will mean that he Is somewhere in the house:
third the lights viii 70 ont. and at the fourth
you will know that I have him." He looked At
his watch and rose from the table. It's nearly
10 O'clock. and time to clear the decks. We
mustn't keep him waiting too LONG: he might
get discouraged and go away. you know"
Five minutes later Helen kissed ner husband
goodnight. much as she might bave taken
leave OF him on the steps OF a g%allow.. When
click on the inside OF her bedroom door, he real
lied that she had something less Of the artis-
tic fervor to sustain her than he had. Then
pity was swallowed up OF enthusiasm. and he
made his preparations Tor the burglars recep-
tax, an observation the time for which would
not recur for another generation.
ground floor and left the front door ajnr. Then
De III u Oh II VI IL u
cent globea in the hall and two more in the
peIlor and dining room, SO that when the other
the lower story. This done. he dampened the
mating in his bedroom till IL glistened with a
dull metallic lustre under the shaded lamp, and
sponRed the front and TIP of a small steel safe
which stood between tho windows.
These preliminarIc. arranged, he stripped to
his shirt and trousers and Law down under the
coverlet on the bed. with his fingers touching
a keyboard OF electric buttons cunninkly hid
wa. With what sang froid there was in him. "
In all bis fnagininRs OF the eliminating mo-
meat In his plan he had entirely ignored the
factor of personal unheroisrp. but after a tense
half hour of suspense he began 10 realize that
this. too. would have to be reckoned with.
1t is one thing to be heroic by proxy In the
persons of ones ruppets on o aper. and quite an
other to face actual batteries OF double-shotted
guns. with fest and blood enemies ready TO
rIve.: or TO lie unarmed and alone in an iso-
lated houee. awaiting the incoming OF a desper-
enough not n listen 10 explanations before nut
ting the apoloEist out Of the running-which is
much the same thing In The end; .u.-
lying there in the seni-darkness. with, his
heart ,drumm;n: in a most unnervinG fashion.
and the perspiratlon trickling from every pore.
making him damp and uncomfortable.
The success of the enterprise. ray. possibly
ment. the chancs Of getting speech With tn.
robber before he should have time to commit
man made ' to uD DG,n, saneIy that MsA he Ts: S Msn .ei
for purposes Of mental and moral virtsectionI;
and not vengeance. Leonard thought no could
But Willie tho crucial moment remained In
allegiance. the agonI OF suspense grew and
glimpse beyond into the region of nysteria-a
glimpse which he mace sure he could use with
win through the nights adventure alive.
Luckily for Leonard's fortitude. which
threatened more than once to desert him en-
sarSisdi 'n fh ,en chine IN ~a OF the hal hail e COCK f:e 9as s sani
echoing the douhl" stroke OF the half hour
after 10 when he heard one of the parlor win
dows 90 up with n noise that was an thing but
creditabie to the skill Of a ousebreaker.
LeoHard,s finger sought the button connect,
waited breathlessly for a confirmation OF the
alarm. 1t did not tarry. There was u clash.
rs of some one falling over q chair. followed by
a muttered imprecAtiun. and Leonard pressed
Now that the battle was fairly on he felt
equal to anything. and he anticipated the next
move o. the enemy with nervea a-ting!e. That.
too. came Quickly. Ten seconds after the crash
OF the bedroom and Leonard saw that the in.
truder was carrying his shoes in his hand.
mating would simplify matters Immensely.
AMI the Sc ,ond signal went TO Helen with no.
Cautiously. and feeling his way with his
fF.e hand. The robber crept across 10 the safe.
and when the, outstretched hand came in con.
tact with the damp metal Leonard knew that
the moment had arrived.
With one touch he sent the third si4 nal TO
n glare OF light frnm hal: a dozen. electric
lamps. The burglar rasped. dropped his shoes
and fell back against the safe with many emo
tions struggling for simultaneous expression on
his unbeantiful face. Leonard sat UT. in bed
with his hand still under the pillov and strove
To lie decently calm and matter-of.fact-
Good evening" he said. Hospitality: don't
bc alarmed: you are In no danger rs long as
you keen perfectly quiet, II you don't. how
ever. Won are q dead man"
The robher oteyed the Injunction. though his
eyes were apparently measuring the distance
10 the door in connection With the hand under
the pillow.
'Wol err ye givin' us?" he growled. when
the factor of escape seemed to have climi-
mated itself from the equation.
cold facts" Leonard answered. AFT lbly.
I'm connection with the hazards OF your pro
fession YOU have doubtless become more or less
familiar with the process OF electrocut.on have
you not?"
The BURGLAR nodded.
Il inferred as much. Well. the mating
under your feet is metallic. and IL forms the
electrodes OF q battery for which the electric
light plant Of Brankville furnishes the power.
b. pressing the button under my finger ! can
all. would You2"
While Leonard was explaining the robber
crouched for a spring, but before he could
launch himself he fell to the hoor like one