The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-11-21

Mr.. Bowser flushed up, looked hard at
f., her and replied:
| Woman, this is not a subject for
| ridicule nor prevarication. I have not
| gained an ounce of flesh in the last
| year. Even If I had gainedaa ton that
would be no excuse for not protecting
| my own home from the ravages of a
| gang of evi1-disposed men. shall pro-
/ coed with my own plans, and shall
not need your advice in the least"
| With that he walked down the hall
and clapped on his hat and walked
over to the butchers. There he re-
| quested and secured the loan of a great
knife. The butcher was busy and
asked no questions. From thence he
went to the plumbers and borrowed a
shotgun and buckshot cartridges, and
i at the drug store he was handed an old
| baseball bat, with the remarks:
That's right, Bowser. If you can kill
off half a dozen of the cats in this
neighborhood a dozen good cigars shall
be waiting for you. The best way to
kill a cat is to creep upon her and then
wait until she sees another cat and be-
gins to hump her back. When her
spine raises about two feet then do you
spit on your hands, draw a long breath
and"
But the indignant burglar-slayer
didn't wait to hear any more. He left
and walked into his house like brig
and searching for a victim, and Mrs.
Bowser said to herself that he looked
fierce enough to scare a schoolma'am
off the fence. Although it was only
o'clock he said to her:
"I want you to go to bed at once
and turn out the light in the room as
soon as possible. Burglars are no
fools. They are not going to walk into
a trap blindfolded.'
"And you insist on sitting up
alone?"
81 do; and I don't want you calling
down to me, either. I am after big
game and I don't want it frightened
away by any woman's nonsense"
Mrs. Bowser went up stairs and
took a seat by the window in the
darkness. and Mr.. Bowser took his ar
senal down to the dining room and
prepared for business. He opened the
door, took a seat by the table and
turned the gas down very low and be-
gan his vigil. At 10 o'clock the street
was quiet. Half an hour later he
caught himself nodding, and in order
to keep awake he began wondering
whether he should shoot the burglar
down without an instant's warning,
or permit him to have three or four
minutes grace to prepare his harden
ed soul for the journey. BY killing at
once the newspapers would praise his
delay his conscience could not accuse
him of hustling a human being into
the other world. He was debating
this point when the light went out for
MIN ana ne Slept. Inc gun ana The
knife and the club winked at him
through the darkness. but his eyes
were closed. He might have slept an
hour or year, so far as he could tell
when, he opened his eyes to see Mrs.
Bowser confronting him, and to hear
her words: uz Tt
'well. Mr.. Bowser. don't you want
to come to bed Pr
"Eh? Eth? W-what you doing down
here? I thought told you to stay
away!"
Eyes, you did. Where is the gun
and other weapons
Mr.. Bowser sprang up and looked
around him in the greatest surprise.
"And where is your watch %
He felt for it, but it was missing.
'And the big solid silver pitcher
that stood on the sideboard?"
It was no longer there.
'And this?" said Mrs. Bowser as
she held up bit of paper on which
message had been scrawled IN pencil.
The message read:
MANY thanks. old man. Ta-tal'
Bowser's vigil was over.-(Copy-
righted 1908 by T. c. McClure.)