Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-09-18
The Daily Short Story
A Midnight Alarm.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK.

There are four or five residents along
| the lake shore who know the secret of
/ the cigars, and one of these residents
has told. One OF Chicago's judges lives
| in Lake View. He has n 14-year-old
son who keeps dogs. For the last two
| weeks some unknown miscreant has
| been going about Lake View streets
| throwing poisoned tidbits TO every dog
| he meets. Some other miscreant has
been going about the streets stealing
| every dog of value he meets. Dog
1 owners have been alarmed thoroughly
| for the safety of their pets. The judges
son owns a setter and three pointer
4 pups. Up to ten days ago he kept them
in ordinary open kennels. Then, with
i the poison and the stealing scare
abroad, the boy put his pets inside
i disused henhouse. The house was n
tight boarded affair with a large door
opening outward from the side. Even
after his dogs were housed thus the
Judges boy feared for their safety. He
resolved to arrange a burglar alarm
that would rouse the household in case
anybody attempted to steal his pup
possessions. The boy rugged up an
alarm that was an alarm. The door of
the kennel, as has been said, opened
outward. To staple driven into the
inside surface of the door n stout but
thin wire was attached. This ran
through an auger hole, then past the
woodshed and the side of the residence
and found an end in the boys bedroom.
There it was fastened to the back of II
chair which was nicely balanced with
very slight support upon its hind legs.
T.Is.
spring, which was wound up and in
turn had been attached TO bell that
had a tone about sevenfold that of the
ordinary fire gong. The exercise OF
further boyish ingenuity had so fixed
it that upon the springing of the alarm
eight huge out OF date volumes of the
Edinburgh Encyclopedia would go
crashing from the top of n desk to the
floor. The working of the alarm was
the simplest thing Imaginable, for
! tug on the wire consequent upon the
simple opening of the kennel door
would start n riOtlike uprUar.
| All the members of the judges fami-
" save the judge and his son We're in
Wisconsin. The judge liked the dogs as
well as did his son. He examined the
alarm and pronounced it good. The boy
I ADidllltO Nllt LltNlislilSAli VI TIT dAAtiAA
10 the neighbors and advised those of
| them who had dogs TO go and do like
wise The judge likes Il light novel.
| Every evening he puts on red dress
| ing gown and lies down on a lounge in
a room next his boys bedroom ana
| there reads until after midnight That
hour had struck from the clock on the
| judges shelf on the night of July 81.
| II ,r-I,f aIa
| soundly in his bed in the room beyond.
| Suddenly there was a scraping noise
and then Il crash that shook the old
! frame mansion like an explosion. Sue
| ceeding there came the sharp alarm
note OF n bell. with the gong strokes
beating a brazen tattoo louder and
faster than that ever pounded out on
drumhead. Above it all rose a howl
from the next room.
| dad. they are stealing my dogs"'
4 Into the room bounced the boy, with
enough white flowing from above his
hastily pulled on trousers to make
goodly sized sail. The bell kept on
1 ringing.
| Come, George" said the father as
he grasped a heavy cane. The boy fol-
lowed his father down the front stairs,
4 OUT the oDOI anu IOUDu lle GOIHtE
of the house toward the kennel. On his
| way through the yard the yOungster
picked up n brick. An electric light
glimmering through the shade trees
showed the progress of the march The
| Judge strobe sternly ahead, gripping
his stick, his red dressing gown flap
ping about wildly in the night wind.
| The boy followed bravely, though all
| unconsciously he was flying n white
| flag. They passed the dining room and
kitchen and made their way through
| the vegetable garden. Just before
rounding the corner of the kennel the
formation changed from column into
line, and the judge and his son adj
vanced to the attack shoulder to Shout
der. A howl of welcome from the
Threats of three pointers and n setter
came from within the kennel at the
faint noise of the approaching foot
steps. The last stroke of the alarm
bell. which had beat time to the march
about the house, died away on the
night air. The door of the kennel was
undisturbed. the paddock and chain
were in place, and the pups within
were joyful in their unbroken security.
The judge looked at his son in dis
gust. "Some enemy hath done this" he
said, Ito make fool of the old man."
There was n rattle and n clatter on
the street. Tie alarm bell had done its
work and had brought the patrol wag-
on and a few neighbors. The judge
made n lame explanation and said
something to the policemen about CT
CARS and secrecy. Then he went
thoughtfully into the house.
MY boy" said the judge TO his son,
whom have you told about this bur-
glar alarm?"
The boy mentioned the names of
few neighbors.
THE wire is within easy reach of the
ground, is it not?"
Yes. papa"