The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1907-12-28
A Es,TlMENTAL BURGLAR
rs Ernest Roeser.

1
he must have In erstood his busi-
ness. No amate / burglar could
have effected entrAaite into the nouse
so neatly and sure y.
And after he w.i in the room he
exercised the sane deliberate care.
the seeming un4 nncern, and sat
down by smouldsring fire to warm
his hands. When nv was comfort
able he surveyed the room with an
electric flash lamp. ana then calmly
ransacked the tall dt8a lii the cor
ner One drawer was Ia, Erd. but ne
fooled this with ease ana then, for
the first time. evidenced excitement,
scooped out Its contents.
Seventeen dollars" he mutterel
dlsdainfully Hardly worth TAX
ing. But he had no idea of leA in5
II. evidently TOR ne carefully stow
ed the bills IN his vest pocket
He continued bis search OF ITO
room, picked up i trinket here ILL
something there, all Of watch t,
1 placed IN the middle of the tai
I preparatory to wrapping them / Il
! gether when his task was fin.sarl.
J In one corner Of the room, taa
glow and mis- flash lamp glinted aa
the shining, polished surface. I'll.
Reached into the shadow and lifts |
a cello into the dim light OF the
fre. After examining the instrument
critically ne dropped its base to the
moor and. as he idly swung il to aud
ITO. seemed specializing. Then lii
looked at the instrument long and
intensely and sat down ii medlta-
| tom Tie nnconseiously thnmbed the
strings and the touch evidenced i
knowledge or the Instrument.
| Il Ii had chance to run the bow
over the strings for minute or
1.-Two, he muttered, II might be able
to tell It's worta It's too hig ana
suspicious package TO carry away
at this time vt the night. aud then,
after all, II may not be genuine. "
After Il short pause. he arose alb
rnptly, like one with his mind made
up. He walked softly and quickly
to the door leading out OF the room,
closed II. Went 10 the corner, aud
tnen returned to the instrument with
the bow IN hts nand.
IN chance Ii, be said below his
breath.
Softly very softly he drew the
bow across the strings, aud then.
after tuning little, he tested. with
the anxiety OF a purchaser, the quail
ties OF tae Gallo Ii 1t was good
enc, he would take tiff NOT. 1t was
not worth the trouble and risk. Evil
IDENTITY he was hard pressed for mo-
ney when he was quite willing to
steal anything that might be con
yerted into cash
As he played. very low, a note
seemed to catch vein OF song and
climbed sWeetly until ii swayed In
tender. sweet and trembling notes.
Sometimes 1t seemed that he was
playing on the heart-strings or wo-
man. and she was weeping, more III
sorrow than pain. Then again, he
was conyersing with dis soul, and
the melody ran on the strings until
il found a mans voice and fioated
In the air, He laughed aud cried.
he sang and then moaned and all
the time MIS- lips parted. his head and
body swayed and he seemed to be
unconscious OF where he Was, how
he came to be there, and OF every
thing else.
He did not hear the door softly
opened, nor did he see the figure of
a young girl, her dark hair falling
On the cloak she had thrown around
her. and her face expressed wonder
ment, fear and admiration all at
once. She stood immovably by the
doorway, listening, and she, too, be-
came lost in the wonderful melody
produced by the burglar artist. And
hen
A coal In the fire crate snapped
md, with nervous start. he leaped
% his feet, turning about swiftly.
he knew that he was
lot alone in the room. The girl
pressed her hands to her bosom, and
hrank against the wall For fully
minute they surveyed each other
md then, the girl, breaking tne spell.
made a movement toward the door
is IL to fee. He quickly raised his
land.
Stop" he said. You need have
10 fear. IL am sorry that so far
orgot myself as to arouse you.
md ne seemed ashamed that he had
een so unprofessional.
who are you?" she cried. And
that are you doing here?"
who | am" he said bitterly,
makes no difference. As 20 why
m here, | was trying to better my
with anything | might
nd" Pointing toward the window.
e continued Il came in there. I
'as fortunate enough to ind this
lstrument in the corner and then
was fool enough to allow 1t to be-
ray me. | guess It's about lime I'm
ding"
ITS yours. isn't is?" ne asked.
imply.
She nodded her head, too frighten-
d to speak.
IL guessed as mnch-otherwise I
ould take ii with me. It's granl
lstrument Do You play it?"
Again she nodded, then, with eff