The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1900-12-04
A Logical Thiefss

prfo are uOWn bldlfS. 10 procure them
l should have TO leave you. could not
be so rude-ergo we must have re-
course TO the poker" He poured 1t out.
with a steady hand, and l noticed, with
a pang, that two rings / had foolishly
left up stairs decked his aristocratic
fingers.
1T is an inferior brand" he re-
marked, filling his own glass. Accept
my apologies. Madam, may have the
honor TO clink glasses with your"
tried to freeze him with a glance Of
supreme contempt. He looked at me
reproachfully. rs 1t possible" he
murmured, that am mistaken in
you; that your works, which l have
studied with SO much delight and ben
eft TO myself, are merely theoretical;
that you, who have propounded a
scheme perfect in very detail, a
scheme by which Dives should share
equally with the poorest Of his breth-
rem his ill-gotten riches. that you can
not rise superior to the annexation OF
a silver teapot or 2 little useless bric-
a-brac?"-and he contemplated the
empty mantlepIece and the deserted
sideboard
Great heavensl" he said. suddenly.
Why. yon mus. take me for"-and he
stopped. do your"
Yes" answered, promptly.
"A thief or a burglar?" he asked.
Both, ] rejolned.
you misiudge me; you do, indeed.
You are very hard. very hard The
few years that have been In my pro-
fession ! have had many clients, but
never yet have been called thief"
He heaved a deep sigh. and added. by
way Of explanation: you are the first
one I have met personally" He took
out my little silver watch. you left 1t
on your dressing table" he said, su-
avely in answer to my look OF recogni-
tlon.
Il see ] have half an hour to spare
and / VIII point out TO you where you
are mistaken, and II you would like to
embody n. short history In newspa-
per article you have my sanction" and
he bowed graciously.
with your permission, / will take
one OF your essays as the text whereon
to hang my sermon. The essay 1 refer
2 charming piece Of work for a woman
logical, clear and convincing. There
Is one passage only 10 which win re-
fer. II Is impressed indelibly upon my
memory" He took up the poker. opened
another bottle of champagne. replen-
ished the glasses drank and procee ied.
THE passage is this: AN men who
can wcrk and who win work have a
right. divine right. TO live, not exist,
merely. but to live and share freely
In the worlds superb abundance Do
you remember that excerpt"
I nodded assent
Well" he continued, -four years
ago / was eighteen. I had just left
Rugby, when my father. who had oc-
cupied high position as a building so
ciety director. passed unobtrusively
away TO another sphere. leaving ilabili-
ties OF an odd million or So The wild
ow and the orphan. the ruined clergy
man-in fact. all the imbeclle idiots
who had lost all their savings-vented
their rage upon me. | was fiagellated
by the press. cartooned by the comic
papers and verbally assaulted at every
street corner. so ! changed my name
and disappeared. You would be sur
prlsed at the difficulty young man
fresh from a public school experiences
In obtaining employment. In fact.
there was none for me II was then
came across your little treatise"
at has only been written a year"
remarked. triumphantly.
"Ah. well. someone must have an
ticipated you. There are burglars in /
the literary line. you know" and he |
smiled at me in a manner that made |
my blood boil. "well. determined to |
embark In this profession. which is |
merely a question OF subtraction and
addition. For example. you have evil !
IDENTIFY a watch too many. have none.
subtract one from you and add to my
belongings. One woman. one watch. |
One man. one watch. Mind you, II Is 1
not calling TO suit a lazy man. / had /
TO work hard. especially during one
three months. Well. l graduated by /
annexing coats. Then l took rooms I'm |
a fashionable locality. and was liberal /
with my patronage TO West End trades |
men. Then. in the language Of the |
dramatic profession, l rested a while. |
although l was not at liberty. For the /
last three years / have attached my |
self to this branch OF the business. 1t /
seems 10 me so fair and involves no /
hardship for any one. I only visit un-
occupied houses: and when people go |
away to the Continent or seaside they /
take all they want What they leave I
they don't want. That's when / call"
you will excuse my interruption" l /
said. You have stolen. or thieved or
subtraoted"-I was very emphatic-"all \
you want Now. please 60"
Pardon me" he said, but you mis-
take our POSITIONS. / am your host,
you are my guest" he motioned me
back to my seat; "and besides"-he /
stopped and his ingenious eyes gave an
glance at my diamond ring.
I'VE have more subtraction and addi-
ton
Take it,'' exclaimed. You are a
paltry, low. pilfering thief" and I
aung my lovely diamond ring on the
mo, rather call me" said he. grave
ly "a picker-up of unconsidered tri-
hes." and my jewel went into his poclS-
ct.
had worked myself up into a furi-
Gus passion. and sat trembling with
rage and beating the DEVILS tattoo with
my foot. He put his arm on the empty
msntel piece and looked down on me.