The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1901-08-24

luK IOtCeo VpSus ouo tutouBu Tue
blinda came tho occasional dash Of .
lantern. In = moment Beatrice was
ON the alert. OF sudden It dawned
upon her that instead Of timorous
mock burglar the unfortunate Ja.k
might have - deal with .. gang OF
hsrdeheh criminals, and tue probable
result. Of such an. encountrr would so
upset arrangements that Mary would
In future thank her to leave her at
fairs alone. SO the little Joke had de-
veioped into huge tragedy. and Jack
must not bs sacrificed. Even in the
hour of danger she could not repress
a smile us she thought how the papers
would make such sensation Of the
affair. No; Beatrice dec.ued TINT 1t
should not be. And SO Jack slept on,
unconscious of the opportunities for
distinction that AWAITED him down
stairs.
In the meantime. the euterprising
young lady with the smudgy face and
ragged clothes had seixe0 an old duel
ing pistol and intrenched herself in
the rear OF the sofa. from which she
could obtain an uninterrupted view Of
the proceedings within the room.
There she propped herself up. with
one arm extending over the back OF
the sofa. pointing nm un.oaded pistol
in menncing manner. Ind there ahe
meant 10 fight ard die. as she had
heard her uncle tell of brave men in
the trenches. for II was desperate
matter now. and It was scarcely real
liable that such terrible plight could
ever have originated in . harmless lit-
tie joke. 'lea
A man crept stenithily into tho
room through the halfopen window
and cast the light Of his lantern In all
directions. Then, upon a sign that all
was right, another iong-legaed villain
followed, and the two conferred In
mufled tones. Then they carefully
shut the window. closed the shutters.
lit the GINS and bounced upon the safe.
That was Beats opportunity.
"Hands up!" ,..... ,.t
| II nm electric wire had been connect
ed with the automatic, hgures. and .
button had been pressed. the upper
limbs could not have responded more
promptly than did the hands Of those
two desperate burglars. Scared aud
baffied as they were. they sfaggered
/
source Of that sudden command. and
encountered the frowniuR muzzle OF
pistol. II was enough. The younger
kman groaned and the older one said
something beneath his breath.
Five minutes passed. and not word
was spoken. Two pairs Of hands still
moved aloft and two pairs Of cowed
eyes feurfully watched the muzzle Of
the pistol. but It never moved. The
aim was deadly!
-"'Urry mp. guv'nor!" ~ last srosned
the younger man. Ring for 4he .ssrv.
ants. or whnt yer like. on:y don't let
Ms get cold in our. armpits!"
1 In support Of which the Older nsn
again ;xwore. hit the vsctoridns oAs
.-sAid .Aoshings 0ulx -tae4 4iatAk sqnttAs
ned 70 frown thresteniaxly.
Two more minutes that seemed like
and the older burglar commenced to
swear more loudly. The younger man
also began TO Indignantly assert his
rights TO humane treatment. snd mat
tiers were Just becoming atrained when
the door opened. and a poker. followed
by the white face Of Jsck WiuthAe:d,
appeared upon the scene. s y
1t was the first time Jack had takeN
an active part in a. burglary case. and
he was considerably ponp'ussed to ind
two hard-fratured viiisisi sfrainin4
their arms 10 the ,cei1i sight Of
. common domesth But he
concluded IT must - ~ Ngasl thing
among snch. gentry. s11sAis face re-
gained some Of its color - he took
the cord from his dressinR-gown and
requested one Of the men 10 hold down
his hands to he bound. which he did
with . grateful glance. A curtain cord
served for the other. and the two soon
stood side BY side, trussed like cock
erels. - ~ Ns
"Now. then. gu.'nor. tel! the bioke
behind the sofy to shift that pistol.
don't like III" exclaimed one.
"Pistol2 Whist pistoi7"
Jack looked ronnd in the direction
indicated. and staggered back IS he
encountered the frowning muzxle. The
idea suddenly occurred to him that
this was another burglar in hiding. and
that he had been outhsnked. rs the
colonel would probably have called II.
Bat ~ he moved. the pistol held stead
lastly 10 it. place. and at last he ma
neuvrred round and discovered slight
form. dressed in ragged mems clothes.
and propped up with cushions and
chairs. t'
Now. young 'un. put mp that gun.
It's all over. Why. look here! Great
Scott! It's BeatTicei And shes
fainted!" ..0f
"Fainted?" echoed the two trussed
men in chorus. PAINTED? FaiRted7
Ere. guv'nor let Us loose to kick our
selves. snd we'll go quiet
"a smart capture. Jack. and boId
venture ON yonr part" said the colonel.
. "You ought to have been . soldier