El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-19

swiftly over the sill into the house. His
feet fell noiselessly on a mat of skim
He was burglar indeed!
He crouched for time, all ears and
peering eyes. Outside were scamper-
ing and a rustling, and for moment
he repented Of his enterprise. A short
"miaow," a splitting and rush into
silence spoke reassuringly of cats. His
courage grew. He stood up. Every
one was abed, it seemed. So easy is
it to commit a burglary If one is so
minded. He was glad he had put 1t
to the test. He determined to take
some pretty trophy, just to prove his
freedom from any AFFECT fear Of the
law, and depart the way he had come.
He peered about him, and suddenly
the critical spirit arose again. Bur-
glars did far more than such mere ele-
mentary entrance as this. They went
into rooms, they forced safes. Well,
he was not afraid. He could not force
safes because that would be a stupid
want of consideration for his hosts.
But he would go into rooms; he would
go up stairs. Moreover, he told himself
that he was perfectly secure. An emp
ty house could not be more reasSuring
ly still.
He had to clinch his hands never
theless and summon all his resolution
before he began very softly to ascend
the dim staircase, pausing for several
seconds between each step. Above was
square landing with one open and
several closed doors, and all the house
was still For a moment he stood Won
dering what would happen if some
sleeper woke suddenly and emerged.
The open door showed a moonlft bed
room, the coverlet white and undis-
turbed. Into this room he crept in
three interminable minutes and took a
piece of soap for his plunder-his tro-
ply. He turned to descend even more
softly than he assembled. 1t was as
easy as Hist!
Footsteps on the gravel outside the
house and then the noise of latch
key, the yawn and bang Of a door and
the splitting of a match in the hall be-
low! Mr.. Ledbetter stood petrified by
the sudden discovery Of the folly upon
which he had come. How on earth
am 1 to get out Of this|' said Mr.. Led
better.
The hall grew bright with a candle
fame, some heavy object bumped
against the umbrella stand, and feet
were ascending the staircase. In a
flash Mr.. Ledbetter realized that his
retreat was closed. He stood for mo-
ment, pitiful figure of penitent con-
fusion. .'My goodness! What fool
1 have beenr' he whispered and then
darted swiftly across the shadOwy
landing into the empty bedroom from
which he had just come. He stood lis
tening-Quivering. The footsteps reach
ed the first floor landing.
Horrible thought This was possibly
the late comer's room! Not a moment
was to be lost, Mr.. Ledbetter stopped
beside the bed, thanked heaven for
valance and crawled within its pro-
became motionless on hands and knees.
The advancing candlelight appeared
through the thinner stitches of the fab
ric, the shadows ran wildly about and
became rigid as the candle was put
down.
Lord, what a day. said the new
conner, blowing noisily and seeming to
deposit some heavy burden on what
MIR. Ledbetter, judging by the feet, de-
cided to be a writing table. The un-
seen then went to the door and locked
it, examined the fastenings of the win
dows carefully and pulled down the
blinds and, returning, sat down upon
the bed with startling ponderosity.
What a dayp' he said. Good
LordY' and blew again, and Mr.. Led
better inclined to believe that the per-
son was hopping his face. His boots
were good stout boots, the shadows
of his legs upon the valance suggest
Ing a formidable stoutness Of aspect.
After a time he removed some upper
garmentS-a coat and waiStcoat, Mr..
Ledbetter inferred-and. casting them
over the rail of the bed, remained
breathing less noIsily and, as it SEEM
ed, cooling from a considerable tenn
perature. At intervals he muttered to
himself, and once he laughed softly.
And Mr.. Ledbetter muttered to him
self, but he did not laugh. "Of all the
foolish things!'' said Mr.. Ledbetter.
What on earth am to do nowT''
His outlook was necessarily limited.
The minute apertures between the
stitches of the fabric of the valance ad-
mitted a certain amount of light, but
permitted no peeping. The shadows
upon this curtain, save for those sharp
ly defined legs, were enigmaticaI and
intermingled confusingly with the for
id patterning of the chintz Beneath
the edge of the valance strip of car
pet was visible, and by cautiously de-
pressing his eye Mr.. Ledbetter found
that this strip broadened until the whole
area of the floor came into view. The
carpet was a luxurious one, the room
spacious and, to judge by the casters
and trimmings of the furniture, we'll
equipped.
What he should do he found 1t diff
cult to imagine. To wait until this