The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-18

effect on my burglar He dropped from
about the seventeenth round on the Iad
der to the ground with what the newsTa
pers call dull, sickening thud"
What do yer want?" he asked afta,
he had recovered his breath
81 just want to be friendly" I answer
ed, advancing toward him. I'm a h,,rs
lar myself, and l thought we might ins,
as well join forces, you know. 1 had ms
effected an entrance when you came nm
1 heard you and feared we might dis
range each others plans.''
"Humph"' said he. You don't 1oo,
much like burglar. But you're no soft,
if you can get into house sooner than
can Have you ever done timer"
Just been released from twenty year.
in Sing Sing" I answered. But I wa
glad it was dark, for 1 am only thirr
years old, and l might have looked h.
young to suit the story.
"Whewr he remarked. "You must h,
a corker," 1 nodded dignified assent +,
this.
Come along" said I. I'VE will go il
by the door"
That's dangerous" he answered
There are people in the house, aren1
there?"
There were lots of them" I renIa,
but I've scared them all away"
How'd you do it?" he asked in al
awed manner.
Made believe I was a ghost" an
swered.
Say, pard, you are a Jim Dandy" salt
my burglar with enthusiasm. rs ther,
any stuff in the house?"
i've located lots of it," I repIied
There's money, solid silver jewelry, sill
dresses, half a pie, an autograph album
everything you can imagine"
Ii.
'Ill follow you anywhere and do anv
thing you say
may make a long story short by saw
ing that my bold demeanor and apparen
professional skill completely captivatet
him. He was both astonshed and delight
ed at the brave manner in which enter
ed rooms, tripped up and down stains
lighted lamps and ransacked bureau
drawers and closets. Moreover he wa,
amazed at my knowledge of the interior
of the promises and the whereabouts nj
the valuables. He said he recognized II
me an expert compared with whom h,
was a veritable tyro. He haZarded many
guesses as to my professional name. and
admired me all the more for declining tt
'glve myself away" as he termed it. Ir
the end he followed me around like a dos
and obeyed every instruction 1 gave him
unqueStioningly'
l had succeeded admirably so far II
my plan, as you will observe, but how tc
complete the affairs was a difficult mat
ter. l knew that Maria would be homt
bright and early and 1 would have to gel
rid of my new found friend before she ar
rived If I hoped for any peace and com.
fort for at least the ensuing year Nv
burglar had become so devoted to me thai
L was sure he would follow me wherever
I went so there was no use in trying to
leave the house.
After proving to the satisfaction of nv
burglar that there was no one in The
mansion I finally hit upon the plan of in
wiling him to spend the night and take an
early breakfast with me before we de-
parted. He was charmed with the idea
and declared that if 1 could risk it he
could. So we went to sleep side by side In
my own bed 1 could have killed him
hundred times during the night if I had
not been so afraid of the rear end of my
gun. l had got that gun as boot in a
horse trade and there is no telling how
anything viii kick that you get in horse
trade. So 1 let him sleep peacefully on,
even after l had risen myself, chopped
the days wood and prepared breakfast
We were just sitting down to the meal
when Maria appeared on the scene of ac-
ton 1t would grieve me even at this
late day to describe the manner and Ian
guage of my good wife on seeing me en-
tertaining a visitor, as ii were. Suffice il
to say that she gave me a dressing down
that scared my burglar into a hasty de-
parture. He was influenced, l have no
doubt, by my own change in demeauor,
He saw his chief" as he was pleased to
call me, quail before the enemy and he
was unnerved. So he took the first oppor-
tunity to slip out of the side door and
make for the corn lot, and l have never
seen him since.
1 have done all I could to convince
Maria that l acted for the best on this Oc-
cason, but whenever 1 mention it she
simply remarks; Liar"