Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1897-03-19
WHY THE GAS WAS BURNING.
Experience of Man Whose Wife
Left Him to Keep House.


Left Him to Keep House.
He hadn't been married very long,
and it was the first time his wife had
left him. When she bade him good-by,
upon starting for n holiday visit to
her own people, she gave him countless
directions as to the various household
matters which needed nightly atten-
ton. Among other things she care
fully impressed upon him the necessity
of making up the furnace every night
81 don't want to come home and find
the house like u barn." she told him,
plaintivcly, just as the train pulled out
of the depot, land that's the way it will
be with neither myself nor the girl to
remind you, unless you attend to the
furnace religiously every night. You
will, won't you, dearie; now promise
me-" she called back, and he shouted the
required promise after her.
And oh! the burden which that prom
Use became to him! Night after night
he forgot it until he was comfortably in
bed, and the chilly trip down the two
flights of stairs grew to be a regular
nightly annoyance. The only thing
more annoying about his housekeeping
experience was his fear of burglars.
For some reason or other he was far
more nervous alone than when his wife
was at home. He is wont to explain
this by saying that IL makes him nerv-
Gus to have nobody to protect. 1t was
through a combination of this fear and
ha fItrn thof ha with the J,0Gt
trying experience of his life.
He came home one evening several
hours later than usual, and with his
nerves and Imagination excited by the
enjoyment of a pleasant little supper
with two or three temporarily wifeless
men. AS he neared the front door of
his suburban home he noticed that a
brilliant light was streaming out of
the basement window. The fear of
burglars instantly seized him. OF
course they had entered the house and
were in the basement searching for the
box in which his wife had hidden the
silver. And equally, of course, they
would handle an intruder roughly.
For few moments he shivered idly;
then he rushed to the house of his near
est neighbor, half block away, and re-
quested assistance. The man of the
house was absent and his wife went into
Mysteries Immediately. The nearest
neighbor on the other side was at home,
but his wife wouldn't let him leave her.
The man across the street was laid up
with pneumonia. 1t was evident that
he must face the danger alone.
The light was still burning when he
quietly approached the house, after
desperate hunt for the solitary police
man who patrols 11s miles of suburban
The light was still in the
basement. Evidently the burglars had
heard of that box of silver and were
still hunting for it. a bright thought
occurred to him. He would slip into
the house noiselessly, take up his stand
at the head of the basement stairs, and
shoot them as they came up. The idea
Of the unguarded back door never en-
tered his mind at all, but he left the
front door open in order to be able
TO call in the assistance of any casual
who might pass by.
For nearly half an hour he shivered
here, and no sound came from the
basement. He hardly knew what to
make of this strange silence. 1t became
svident that he must descend the stairs |
md investigate further. But what if /.
hey had heard him enter and were
'lso laying in wait? lie fairly trembled |
1t the very thought, and when the fig
Ire of a casual acquaintance appeared !
against the light of the
street lamp outside, he forgot all about |
caution and nearly fell on his neck and /
Tept for JOY. When he had partially
'ecovered from his transports they
scftly descended the basement stairs,
and found-nothing. He had simply
forgotten to turn out the gas after his
nocturnal trip TO the furnace on the
night before, and it had been burning all
day long.
And the worst of the affair is thatthe
caller told the story far and wide, while
the absent wife scolded about the Gas
bill upon her return.-Chicago Times
Herald.