Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1900-01-17
LANGLEY'S BURGLAR.
BY Kennett F. Harris.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

lie WAS a clean, notwithstanding
ing old fellow, with snowy
white tuft of hair on his chin and pair
of steel-rimmed spectacles astride of q
nose that was colored just trif1e deep
err than the rest of his face. His eX-
preston was mild and benevolent. A
folded rule was sticking out of his
wastcoat pocket and thick, stubby
pencil protruded from his ear, and he
carried piece of hammer and wealth
err strip. "Good-morning, marm," he
said, as Mrs. Langley opened the kitchen
door. I'm the carpenter"
"Oh!" said Mrs. Langley, vaguely.
"The agent sent me to look at the
windows and see what was needed for
Them" pursued the old man.
"Not our windows, surely" said Mrs
Langley. "There's nothing in the world
the matter with them. There must DC
some mistake"
ITS the castings I want to look at,
explained the carpenter. 81 want to see
whether the weather stripping is sci
tight or if it wants new anywhere
We're going to have cold winter, once
it starts, and we don't want to have
YOU freezing to DEATH" He looked sc
particularly benevolent as he said this
that Mrs. Langley felt quite grateful
She invited him in and he inspected
the kitchen windows, the bedroom ant
parlor windows, and even the tran
SONS. He did everything in very
conscientious, painstaking fashion, ant
it was nearly half an hour before hi
folded up his rule and took up his hal
to CO.
"There amt really much to do" hi
said, with modest air of deprecatine
his efforts in Mrs. Langley's behalf il
order to stem an anticipated flood OF
thanks. II guess there's about al
hours work altogether. That there
door is sprung quite bad, and L might as
we'll fix that with the rest. Let TIT
tail 90 with the hide--that's what
say. There's no use spelling the shiI
TO save a pot o. pitch. He didn't tell m'
10 fix the door, but I amt man tina
likes TO do things by halves"
Mrs. Langley commended these scnti
ments.
"Now. marin. if you'l let me know
what day 10 come I'll fix it so'st won
have to bother you when it's not con
vericnt," concluded the old man. s.
don't like to come in with my tool
cluttering up house when a lady ain
expectin' me. Hnw'm l goin' to know
but she's got company. or something
of that sort? ?"
Mrs. Langley said he was the mos
considerable man she ever saw.
Langley was suspicious from th
start. "Told you the agent sent hin
round. did he?" he asked. "That doe
settle it. The agent! Sent carpenter
around! Observation-Disclosures by
kind concern for our comfort! d1dn'
90 down on my knees half dozen time:
to impore him to have those Windows
fixed. I didn't finally take big clul
and 90 round to his office and make
threatening demonstrations No, he
draucht and catch cold, so he sent ;
man to fix it so we couldn't. That
the worst ever heard"
sounds kind of fshy," said Plum
mer, who was over for the evening.
"What would the man want to CONF
around for if he wasn't sent?" asked
Mrs. Langley. 'ITe said the agent sen
him most distinctly and positively. HI
wouldn't say thing like that and g
to all that trouble unless it was So"
"What have you missed since he wen
away?" asked Plummer.
"What have l. Why, you don't NEAR
- No; that would be absurd. HI
couldn't have taken anything withou
my seeing him. I was with him thu
whole time. Besides, he wasn't at al
that kind of man."
"Do you mean that he wasn't ticketet
as burglar? That don't signify any
thing; he might have swallowed hi
tag"
~ guess 7 can tell a burglar when
see one, anyway" said Mrs Langley
indignantly. "This man was as nice
and pleasant and chatty as he coult
be-"
"Some of the most confirmed and in
vcterate burglars I have known hav'
been pleasant, chatty men," remarked
| Langley.
"'When the enterprising burglar