The San Francisco call., 1906-10-14


for life when they have already killed
him"
There. now. be a good girl and
don't ask foolish questions, but listen.
Billy Marks father is q policeman, and
ne told me how they find burglar and
shoot him every time they want to have
their pictures put In the papers"
Shoot the same burglar every timer"
sh," said Frank Nov, I wonder
what that was that fell q minute ago?"
Do you think It was mammal"
That settles 81 No more hiding for
US. Come with me to the head OF the
stairs and we will call to her Perhaps
that will frighten the burglar away.
Mary, loyal little soul. couldn't lie
abed now when the idea was in her
mind that mamma might be IN trouble.
She had never thought before that
burglars ever troubled mothers. But
her heart stood still as she wondered
II there were not different kinds Of
burglars.
SO Frank slid out from under the
bedclothes and Mary followed. Then
the two took hold Of hands and tip
toed together to the head OF the stairs,
hardly daring TO breathe.
How cold and dark IL looked down
in the hall. There was hardly any
gas burning there. just a glimmer of
light; and how still IL was.
NOW. whispered Frank. when I
count three we will both call out as
loud as we can to mamma"
one"
Both children listened but heard
nothing.
Il wonder where that policeman who
blew the whistle is?"thought Frank
Three"
Both children called Mamma" not
50 very loud, IL Is true, but the effect
was great.
The sound rang through the house,
which returned no answer. The voice
Of the mother was not heard. Neither
was there any movement in the rooms
below, Of which the doors were open,
70 tell that she was there.
Come" said Frank, hardly able TO
hold back sob Mamma is not able
TO answer or she would. We must 20
downstairs now and see why"
The faces OF Frank and Mary were
as white as snow as they went down
the stairs slowly, step by step. keep
ing their eyes and ears wide open.
Their hearts were beating like little
trfphammers. but they kept going.
L think they were just as brave as
ever Paul Revere was when he rode
out from Boston 10 warn his country
men. or as Israel Putnam was when he
crawled into a VOLTS den and shot the
~ N14c A-6LL OF llb own eyes.
But they did not think so. They be-
lieved they were great cowards-only
Mary believed that Frank was q hero
still
They reached the bottom of the stairs
and came to where two steps more
would place them where they could
look into the room where they knew
mamma sat sewing end reading, after
they were abed every night
Dreadful stems fn%ead The fxva h,-S
est steps that ever they had been called
on TO take What would happen? Was
the burglar In there7 Had he heard
them coming downstairs? Where, oh
where, were the policemen now that
What did Frank do? Little man that
he is, he put his arm around Mary,
kissed his little sister and, with
sinking heart, took the steps holding
his head high to make the burglar
think he was not afraid and carrying
Mary across the two steps, with her
eyes closed for fear that she would see
the burglar first.
But where was mamna7 Frankie's
sound Of wonder made Mary open her
eyes IN a second The chair where
mamma always sat was empty. There
was no one IN the room The gas was
low The little stockings and waists
that she had been working on were
piled UP In heap on the table near
the reading lamp. But there was
surely no one In the room-perhaps
not IN the house-except the burglar
II was strange. What was stranger
was the sight Of two chairs pressed
close up against the swinging door
that separated the sewing-room from
the breakfast-room. There the chairs
stood, side by side. cuddled up to-
gether. much as the children were
this minute, as close as they could be
placed But what for?
Mamma has gone for the police be-
cause they are so slow" whispered
Frank just as softly as could be. She
is so brave that she isn't afraid to go
10 sleep in the dark or 10 90 out in
the dark. She put the chairs there to
make noise If the burglar came this
way"
Something moved IN the breakfast
room. One soft sound followed an
other Then something like a soft
hand pressed against the swinging
door so that II touched the chair backs
There was no doubt about that, for
both Frank and Mary saw the door
move and heard II when the wood OF
the door hit the wooden backs OF the
two chairs.
A sudden. courageous idea came to
Frank. With q swift motion he
dragged Mary TO one OF the chairs
and sat down In the other himself
His idea was TO make II harder for the
burglar to open the door because, II
their weight was against the door,
that would help a little anyway and,
perhaps, scare the burglar