Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1907-04-05
Capturing
A Burglar
Observation-Disclosures
By Harriet L.mmis smith.
Copyright. 1901. By Mary MoKsaa'

OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Scott sat on the step Of the evIiNA
and famed himself with biz l4
Through the open door carhe The apiII'
Of feminine voices. animated and ealN
The young mans eyes lscanned i||z
landscape with something Of WiHttA
ness in their depths. He had nptlE
one or two pretty girls i'd The Ehtpl|
of older women who We're enelf eski
the church supper. but apparently tiaex
were all too busy for conversational
advances. He reflected with sense
of injury that his visit was opening
tamely.
Chester 1t was his aunt's brisk
voice, and Scott rose with alacrity. I'm
ergetic Aunt Anne liked to see people
busy. In her summons he read q prom
ise Of occupation and welcomed 1t re-
CARELESS of Its nature. Nor was he
destined to be disappointed.
'"This Ia my nephew, Mr.. Scott" said
Aunt Anne, addressing group of la
dies, who acknowledged the introduce
ton by collective smile. "And he'll
be delighted to do any little errands
for u.s." she added generously. "Now,
Mrs. Anderson, tell him about your
spoons"
Mrs. Anderson beamed gratefully on
the young man. "I'm sure It's awfully
kind of you, Mr. Scott. You see. we're
short of spoons, and want to send you
for mine. Do you know Fayette street,
Yes, 1t crosses Main at right angles,
and my house IL a yellow cottage on
the right, with woodbine over the
porch. You'll find the key under the
mat. Go straight through the hall into
the dining room, and the spoons are
in the left hand drawer Of the side
board. It's just lovely of you to help
us out, Mr.. Scott"
The other ladies' murmured assent,
and one or two of the younger flashed
appreciatlve glances In his direction.
SCOTS spirits rose. He promised q
speedy return and started on his err
rand. rejecting as he went on the re-
freshing confidence Of community
which left Its keys under the door
mats and permitted strangers to have
access 10 ltB MONIES.
He had no difficulty in finding the
yellow cottage, and the key was In its
place. He made his way through the
silent hall into the dining room, and
here he encountered his first check.
The spoons were not I'm the drawers
OF the sIdeboard. In fact. they were
not in the sideboard at all, though he
khapnnnhlxr 10 trnaE In utt
Opening the closet door, he was re-
warded by the sight of a well STOCKED
silver chest, and he possessed himself
Of the spoons, promising himself
laugh ut the expense of the owner of
the silver. whose memory was so I'M
reliable.
Hold up your handsl"
The request came in tones whose
determination could not be mistaken,
and Scott spun on his heel to find him
self facing revolver. Back Of the
revolver was girl She was rather
tall girl with very white cheeks and
absurdly long lashes. She wore a gnr-
den hat, beneath which little tendrtl-
like curls festooned themselves about
her forehead. Under other circum-
stances Scott would have voted her
charming
Hold up your handsp' said the girl
again, and Scott obeyed, rejecting that
It was better to humOr her first and
explain afterward. The spoons In his
pocket seemed to weigh n ton. He
felt hot and ridiculous.
"Your mother asked me- he began.
The girl interrupted him. II have
no mother Your excuses will only
make bad matter worse"
Scott bit his lip. Absurd as the sit
uatIon was. 1t had serious side. He
spoke with as much dignity as was
consistent with standing before beau
tiful girl with his hands on level
with his eors. II was requested to
come here by the lady Of the house."
he insisted
ooh, indeedl Then perhaps you will
tell me her name"
Scott racked his brain. In the dis
traction Of that general Introduction
Mrs. Anderson's name had failed to
imprint itself on his memory.
II don't know her name," he ac-
knowledged, "but she is dark haired
woman, about forty-hve, should say,
with good deal Of color" He would
have gone further with his descrlp-
ton, but the young woman checked
him by a gesture not to be mlsunder-
stood.
II prefer to know no more of your
preposterous fiction" she said wither-
ingly. Evidently you are not as
shrewd as you think yourself. 1t hap
pens that l am the lady Of this house,
and am going to keep you right here
until my uncle comes"
Scott cursed his folly. Doubtless
there were yellow cottages on every
block and all the neighborhood kept Its
keys under the door mat. He tried to
say something about a mistake, but
she would not listen. Keeping her eye
upon him, she seated herself deliber-
ately. "Please do not move" she said.
cor I shall be compelled to shoot, and
that would be very disagreeable for
me and considerably worse for you"
In the position he was compelled to
assume Scott had an excellent oppor-
tunity for studying his captor. She
was certainly a remarkably pretty
girl. The stern determination Of her
eyes could not hide their depth and
luster. The pallor Of her cheeks failed
to disguise their exquisite curves. The
hand that held the revolver was q very
shapely one. 1t panied him to notice
that the girl was gradually growing