The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1904-12-12

uouf 4 expected IL 70 open dAu Art uiM
in. but the fastenlngs held.
finally began to recover from the
first effects of my dreadful fright, and
70 wonder if 1t was not possible for
me to shoot the man as he worked at
| the door. he was evidently q real
burglar, and deserving of the most Sc
we're punishment.
As 1 seriously considered this matter
my courage increased. and I finally
concluded to attempt it. Stepping up
on the lower rail Of tie banister.
leaned over and, carefully lifting the
gun over. lowered the nuzzle until it
pointed fairly down on the man, and
was only a few feet from the top Of his
unconscious head. Trembling with ex-
citement. | pressed ihe stock to my
shoulder as / hung over the railing
Immediately over him and. with two
fingers on the heavy trissnr began to
pull with all my strength. Until fairly
out OF breath 1 tugged on tile trigger.
expecting every instant to hear the loud
report and see the man fall dead, sud
denly cut short in his awful career OF
crime, Ceasing MY strenuous efforts
finally, and pausing to e. a better
hoid on the trigger, 1t suddenly oc-
cured to me that the raason the gun
had not gone off was the fact that in
my excitement / had forgotten to
cock it. My fears were now. for the
time forgotten. and l was all excite
ment for fear the man would disc ve7
me ana make his escape before could
kill him.
Ny youthful mind in no wise real
lied The awful deed / was contem-
plating, in deliberately attempting to
kill the man. 1t but seemed a brave
and heroic act One for which all
good people would praise me. and best
of ALL one which would make me the
envy of all the other boys of the town.
Entirely forgetting the fearful racket
made by the cooking of my weapon,
let 90 the trigger laid hold on the pom
derous lock and tugged away with
might and main. Tie excitement un-
der which was laborlng lent strength
to my arm, and the first desperate pull
my arm, and the first desperate pull
brought the gun to half-cock, although
was using only one hand, instead of
bota as usually found 1t necessary
to do.
If the gun had actually fired it could
not have produced a more startling
sound than the loud lick! which an
nounced it a half-cock
AS 1t rung out on the i'll night air
the burglars head rnapp-d back as
though moved by an electric current, |
and l shall never forget the looS Of ter
ror in the -yhite face 1 the man as he !
suddenly looked up right into the muz-
zle of the gun pointing full down on
him, and so fearfully ar.
was again overcome with terror at
being suddenly so discovered by the
man whose life Was attempting, and
hung over him speechless and motion
less, wondering what he woull o
me.
For an instant he gazed fxedly, as
though fascinated, into the muzzle of !
the gun, and then I noticed that he
seemed to be settling down as If his
legs were slowly sinking into the
ground.
Then suddenly, with a shrek Of ter
Tor that fairly split The air, and nearly
caused me to fall over the railing. he
sprang back with mighty leap, which
carried him fully twenty feet. and
turning. fed to the rear of the yard at
top speed, leaping and lodging from
side to side as he ran.
The yard was high in the rear, and
by a retaining wall of stone.
and above the wall, and a little further
back was high board fence. Neither
Of these obstacles seemed to present
the least difficulty to the fleeing man.
He ran up the wall like a scared cat
and fairly flung himself over the fence.
The street was steep and rocky in
the rear, but l plainly saw and heard
him continue his retreat with undi-
minished speed until he turned the
next corner.
1t then took me a very short time to
get back into the house where / was
glad to find my sister undisturbed and
quietly sleeping.
When the family returned and heard
he story Of my adventure, they all,
With the exception of brother viii,
with me. Will insisted
hat was "a chicken-hearted chump,v
md said did not deserve ever to have
mother good chance at a burglar as
ong as l lived. and l very frankly
old him that hoped l never WOULD
Forest and Stream.