Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1902-01-23
HOW'RE WENT WRONG
ny JOHN II. RAFTERY.

Mr.. Wilkins. being a bookkeeper, was
obliged to put in some hard hicks toward
the close Of each month. Making state
ments and balancing accounts meant late
hours and rushing work from the 18th &c
the last day. 1t was his habit to get mid.
night supper downtown on such occasions,
going home very tired and very sleepy, to be
admitted by Mrs. Wilkins and to tip-toe
away into the alcove room with as little
noise as possible.
On September the Wilkinses moved from
their third-floor fiat on Fifty-hrst street to
fourth-fioor fiat on the Midway. A family
named Piper lived under them There wert
three Misses Piper and their brother, a man
of mature years but eccentric habits, whom
Mrs. Wilkins suspected" of being
sport" for no better reason than that he
never came home before midnight. Night
after night he had rung the Piper door bell
as late as one in the morning. and the Vii
kinses agreed that it looked bad"
On the night of September %, Mr.. WI.
kins having journalized, posted, added.
checked and carried down balances" tin
his head ached and his eyes swan, went
home half asleep with a half-forned deter.
mination to sleep till noon the next day,
which was Sunday. He was so tired that his
knees shook as he slowly mounted the
winding stairway leading to his fat. He
had no latchkey because his wife always per-
sisted in boiling the door on the inside
when he was absent. 1t was past one
o'clock when he found the electric button.
gave it a gentle push and heard the bell
rattle slightly. He listened dreamily to the
patter of bare feet within, heard the lock
click and saw the door slowly swing ajar.
The rustic of a garment in the dark, the
sound of retreating footsteps and the jolt
of the shut door were the last incidents OF
his entrance that he remembered.
He "barked" his shins against sundry
pieces of furniture as he passed through the
parlor into his alcove, but managed to find
his bed without lighting the gas and guided
only by the dim moonlight that glowed
against the window shades. He CROPPED for
his pyjamas, but not finding them, and being
unwilling to rouse his wife, who slept in the
rear bedroom, he slipped YEARLY between
the sheets and slept the sleep of the over
worked bookkeeper.
Meanwhile Mr.. Piper, the suspected
sport" who lived in the fiat below Wilkins,
came solemnly numbering up the stairway.
Arrived at his door, he tried his latchkey
and found that he was locked out. Then he
tried again, swearing softly to himself, and
pressing his knee against the door. Finally
he rang the bell. The patter of bare feet
followed by a waiting silence answered him.
"Well?" he growled, losing his patience.
"Who is it," asked trembling voice.
''Who do you suppose. It's me-
There was more shutting inside, and Mr..
Piper could hear subdued voices in consul
tation.
eff you don't go away Wen call the po-
lice" ventured the oldest sister.
ooh, come off, Cynthia" growled her
brother, getting angrier every moment, "let
me in. Don't you know it's me, Ebenezer.
Let me in"
How did you get GU" asked the puzzled
Cynthia.
"Why, 1 haven't been in. L"
why, let you in myself half an hour
ago"
He lighted the gas in the hall as he heard
his sisters placing a chair by the door, and
the next moment three pairs of eyes were
Sizing him up" through the transom.
Mr. Wilkins dreamed that his cash book