The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1907-05-14
A SURPRISE.
Original

[Original.l
We had been married but a few
months when | was obliged to leave
my Marian on a business trip to the
orient. 1 expected to be gone three
months at the outside, but was absent
eight. had frequent letters fri IN my
wife and knew that she was IN ex-
sellent health, so l had nothing to
worry about
I reached New York at 9 in the
morning by steamer and at 10 drove
up to the door of nay house. had
carried the latchkey with me on my
key ring and let myself in. Seeing no
one below, l ran upstairs to my wife's
room, thinking only of the transports
Of our meeting after my long absence.
was surprised to find the door locked.
l knocked, ratified the knob-indeed,
made every demonstration of one burn
ing to get in and take my beloved one
in my arms. Presently l heard the
words on the other side Of the door:
go awayr
The voice was not my wife's, but it
was woman's. | had no mind to be
thus treated on my return after so long
an absence and kept on knocking and
rafting the knob. Presently 1 heard
sound inside that resembled nothing
l had ever heard unless it was the
first effort Of young rooster to crow.
was puzzled. What could it mean?
/ gave a kick at the door with my
foot. In another moment 1 heard the
same voice say:
'Do stop that noise and go awayv'
"What does 1t all mean?" 1 shouted.
But there was no response, and after
giving another kick l concluded to &C
cept the situation and went down
stairs. 1 touched a button in the IL
brary for Peggy, the maid l had left
at the house when I went abroad, but
instead of Peggy new girl answered
the summons
where's Mrs. Budd?" asked.
'Don't know" :.
Don't know? You're the maid,
aren't you?"
Don't know"
do you understand English?
Don't know"
"Never mind That'll do. Go back.
don't want you"
1t took these four sentences to get
her out of the room, and l was trying
to think up some other method of soly-
ing the riddle when l heard the front
door open. l went into the hall, but
not in time to see who had come in. l
heard or thought heard footstep go
ing upstairs, but city houses are al
ways dark, and mine Is darker than
most of them, SO I couldn't see who it
was l heard a light knock on a door
(my wife's, perhaps) The door was
opened long enough for some one to
pass In then it shut
This was maddening A woman had
my wife a prisoner, and all the knock
ing of which l was capable would not
gain me admittanee, yet here was
whose lightest rap was an "open sesa-
me-" No one in the house but maid
who could say nothing but don't
know"-at least l supposed there was
no one else-but to make sure I went
upstairs and looked into every room.
While passing my wife's room | heard
that spring chicken growing again
went back to the library and paced the
floor, resolving to waylay any one who
might have gone into the room from
which / was debarred-that is, If any
one had gone into the room-when he,
she or it came out-that is, If he, she or
it ever did come out -
l didn't have to wait long lore l
heard the door open and a mans step
coming down the stairs. 1 confronted
him in the hail.
well, SIR" I said, what are you
doing here?"
what are you doing here?" he re-
torted, bristling.
Il am the owner of this house"
"The deuce you arew with evident
surprise.
yes, am, and I'm kept out of my
wife's bedroom. There's nobody to tell
me what is going on and
you must excuse me, sir: I'm in a
hurry" And he went out and shut the
door.
"Well, I'll be hangedp' l said to my
self. This is agonizing."
/ went back into the library 1t
before heard ring at the telephone
upstairs. A woman's voice answered
the ring This was one-half the dia-
logue, the half heard:
Eyes, I'm Miss Arbuckle."
'You don't mean it."
cha, ha, ha. Cleverly managed"
"All right Goodby."
Another ten minutes passed when l
heard the door open again and a voice
called to me to come up. A uniformed
nurse ushered me into my wife's room.
Marian was lying on the bed and be-
side her a nine pound chunk of flesh.
After l had taken both mother and
child in one embrace, nearly smother
ing the child, l asked a few questions.
"She wished to give you pleasant
surprise" said the nurse
at was certainly surprise" / re-
piled. 1.-THE biggest part of it was my
treatment in my own house after my
long absence. 1 suppose the man |
met in the hall was the DOCTOR
Eyes; he called me up by telephone
and told me how he kept the secret"
"And you're the woman who told me
to go away from my own doorY"
Il was bathing the baby"
"And that's the little rooster that
crowed|
you mean cried, l suppose"
"Well, 1 suppose he's come in here to
take my place as head of the house"
And l soon found that he had
ERNEST LEON MUNRO.
Just Escaped the Madhouse.
If old Nine Daguerre had been as