Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1900-01-17
COWED THE BURGLAR
A NOISE THAT MADE HIM ABANDON
A HOUSEKEEPING.
Scared Away by Mysterious sounds
That Made the House TrembIc--HIs
Emotions, Years Later. When the
Source Of His Scare Was Revealed

That Made the House TrembIc--HIs
Emotions, Years Later. When the
Source OF His Scare Was Revealed
"As a rule" said the retired bur
glar, II did not pause 10 look at pic
lures In the houses | visited There
wasn't time, even il had had the iu-
clination. But sometimes ones atten-
tiOn would be fixed on picture by cir
cumstances. For instance as I was
passing my lamp one night along a
parlor shelf TO see if there was any
thing there, the light fell. M the same
moment on a silver snufTbOx and a
daguerreotype OF a man in uniform
that stood right beside IL. and as I
dropped the snuffbOX in my pocket I
held the light on the picture for a
minute and inspected il a little bit
more closely. II interested me some
how, though there wasn't anything
very remarkable about il one way or
the other-just the picture OF a young
ish. self satisfied looking man in mill
tary uniform.
when turned away from the shelf.
1 walked across the parlor 10 the hall
go up stairs. but just as put my foot
on the bottom step heard what
sounded like a faint grOan. Well now.
you understand. | am not much dis
turbed by strange sounds. because
man in my business gets so to speak.
used TO the unexpected. but that groan
stopped me.
Il stood there for minute. with one
foot on the floor OF the hall and the
other on the lowest step. and waited
| didn't hear any more. and then I
thought I might have been mistaken.
and l started up. but | had scarcely
raised that foot that was on the floor
before I heard the groan again. this
time for sure. and was glad TO put
that foot down 10y the other instead Of
putting II up a step. and then | waited
again awhile. and then ! started up
once more. this time resOlute 10 20
ahead. That's what I did. Now.
heard the groaning beyond a doubt and
growing louder and louder as l went
up stairs and sometimes with sort Of
growl mixed In like some great savage
animal and I didn't like il n bit. ! can
tell you that.
As far as that's concerned. If | had
followed my inclinationS should have
turned round and skipped the ranch
when the grOaninC first begun. but l
thought l ought 10 20 ahead and find
out what II was all about anyway. and
kept on till had got pretty near TO
the top OF the stairs. with the groaning
growing louder all the time with my
interest not decreasing by n long shot.
but my desire 10 investigate the cause
OF il decreasing rapidly
when | got within n step or two OF
the top. there was a sort Of boom that
l couldn't understand At all. and lust
as ! stepped up the last step on 10 the
floor of that up stairs hall there came n
sudden booming burst Of sound that
was many times repeated rapidly and
that made the whole house shake as
though there was thunder rolling
through ii and smashing around IT, and
then. my son. l went away. don't
shy ut things l can. understand. but |
have very little use for the mysterious.
We'll, l never saw that town again
for three years. The next time I went
there was In the time of a political
campo .. They were having a bic
meeting there that night and n parade
and that sort Of thing, and stood IN
good place In the crowd and watch
ed the procession. and when the band
came along who do you think was
playing the bass drumf Nv man
whose picture I'd seen on the mantel
shelf that night l nipped the heirloom
snuffboX and heard the mysterious
moaning
attachments.
I'D dropped a spoon or fork or
something in the dining room in his
house before I struck into the parlor.
and he'd heard il and got UP and saw
me, and then he headed me OF with
the drum. He had his eye on me from
somewhere. and when set my foot
on that lower step he rufiled the bic
drum gently. the low groan. Ii was
easy for him, and these groans grew
under his hand as ! advanced till he
hit that whack when | was near the
top and then beat IL with frantic en-
ergy when he saw that that single
thunderburSt didn't stop me.
"WaS he scared? Well. now YOU bet
your life he was. and could imagine
him. gay and gallus as he was now.
walking along. beating away on the
old bass drum, with the skyrockets
a-soaring and the roman candles
a-Spouting around him, standing tina!
niSht in dark room In his own house
and beating the big drum as he never
beat II before or since, but III bet a
thousand dollars 10 cocoanut that
was worse scared than he was. but
that wasn't the worst Of IT,
AS long as IT was a mystery. why
! could stand it very well. but I've
never. from that day to this. never
met brass band I'm the street without
reeling sort Of sheepish when the man
with the bass drum went by."-Neyy
York Sun.
Didn't Get the MnnAU