Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-10-09
DAILY SHORT STORY
A BURGLAR S STORY.
IOrfg1nal.l

IOriginaII
The way it happened was this You
see, 1 began my life in clover, then
when L was scarcely more than baby
was stolen by an Italian organ grinder
and when / was twenty had been
graduated for burglar. l hadn't in
herited the profession from my ahces-
tors; i had been doomed TO il by those
who had stolen me. and | made a
mighty poor living. Fortunately 1 was
lucky enough to keep ont of Jail.
One night-it was in November and
a cold wind blew through my rags, my
bones, my marrow and all i was
walking along a road, going nowhere.
for i had nowhere to go. l came 10
small house standing by itself and no
ticed faint glow in the kitchen. in
dicating that some one had left an
open fire there. | was as hungry as |
was cold, and the picture | drew of
that kitchen was a wonder of comfort.
AS luck would have il. l found loose
window guard and, lifting the sash.
went inside. My anticipations were
more than realized. There was n fine
bed Of Goals on the hearth-no cook
stove spoiled the appearance of that
kitchen-and on the floor beside it was
a basket of CLAIMS.
\ pleasant light from the Goals gave
me a sight of the room. its closets and
what was in them. Throwing half
dozen clans on the fire. got out what
tablew;4n l needed and went down
into the cellar to see if l could find
,l,fr Il
/ found rows Of bottles marked Cur
rant Wine" Taking a bottle. l went
back TO the kitchen. and by this time
the clans We're about ready to eat. I
put them on the plate 1 had placed on
the table for them. opened them. put
on some butter, some salt and. finding
had forgotten the pepper. went into
the closet to get it. l had to hunt
few minutes, and when l returned
there stood a girl in wrapper and slip
perS, looking about as unconcerned as
if she had expected to find me there.
Il beg pardon, miss" l said. Il
found the door, mean the window
open. and. being cold and hungry.
thought you wouldn't mind my coming
in and getting a snack"
htNCl paw Su'H III ms
She told me to make myself at home
and not mind her coming in at all. She
threw more clans on the fire and. go
ing TO the closet, brought out Il lot OF
good things / hadn't found. She beg
ged me to go right on with my supper
and she would join me as soon as more
CLAIMS We're cooked.
I'm troubled with insomnia" she
said. land keep something to eat ready
every night. After a supper l can go
to sleep"
The warm fire. the supper. the wine
and, above all, the companiOnship such
as had never enjoyed before made me
forget what 1 was. and she seemed t.
forget It, too, for when I pictured my
self standing without wistfulIy draw
ing mental pictures Of her kitchen she
almost cried. This induced me TO men
ton that an Italian had told me | had
been stolen when child. but would
not tell me from whom. ! told the girl
that placed no confidence in his story
Il place a great deal of confidence in
it," she said. You belle your clothes
and occupation. You have descended
from neutrality-suspicious. especially
noted for their appearance. From the
moment i saw yOu-when YOU bowed
to me at my entrance recognized the
Inheritance of this feature in you. IT
was this that enabled me TO keep my
equanimity. 4 woman fears men in
proportion as they are brutal; she in
recognizes Difference
When / went away | had promised
r1,o@ Il
discover the secret of my birth In the
means employed / forgot my natural
and yielded to my worldly
Inheritance. / got the man who had
given me a part of my secret alone
where he could not escape me and held
q knife at his breast till he gave me
the facts. This he did, declaring that
he would suffer death later on at the
hands of his accompliceS. Giving me
an article of underclOthing with inf-
tals worked on il, he told me the
names of my parents. where they lived
and all about them.
'They are rich,'' he said. land you
could make the short time | have TO
live comfortable. But before you find !
them l shall have disappeared"
took the garment the man gave me |
and one night went TO the house of her |
who had given me her confidence |
There was the dim light of Goals in tho !
kitchen. and the window guard had been |
left open for me. L entered, sat down |
before the fire and waited. She came |
down in few minutes-she had heard |
/ told her my story. showing |
her the garment. She took il. examined |
ii carefully, and the expression on her |
face was that of one who had found = |
treasure. No one had ever before re-
joiced at any good fortune that had |
come to me. and could not understand |
why this girl should do So
We roasted the clans and ate our
supper together. When I left had |
promised to find my family and come
Lack u Let her kInxx- IL.