The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1909-04-29


and confused young man managed to
articulate.
flush! Not so loudv' she cautioned
as she raised her hand and entered her
room.
He stood there, feeling and looking
like a polite idiot for the next two
minutes, and then Betty reappeared,
held out the watches and rings on her
palm and whispered:
"These are ALL l have been very
honest with you. We are not keen for
jewelry. Now won't you please go?"
"Will you tell me whom I'm speak
ing to-" was asked as the girl contin-
ued to hold out her hand with her ear
bent to hear If her mother was stir.
ring. HI
'I'm Miss Hardin"
"Great scottsr' with gasp. Then
you must be Wills sister,. Let me say
to you that am
Hush! You are Raffles-Mr. Raj
| fles, of course. Please, please go away.
wish we had twice as much to be
robbed of, but you will have to be sat
isfied Here-1'll put the things in your
coat pocket Now go on tiptoe. You
may leave the lamp burning after you
get through robbing downstairs, and
I'll come down after it. Hush! Softlyw
| Young Archer wanted to stop and
explain, but she laid one hand OH his
shoulder and urged him along and the
| first thing he knew he was at the foot
of the stairs and a white hand was be-
ing waved to him from the top. Where
should he go? What should he do?
There was an awful mistake, but how
was it to be rectifed?
Will had said that he would be back
on the 8 o'clock train. He had missed
it, but might be expected at any min
ute now. The first thought was to go
outdoors and wait for him. The Sec
ond was to turn out the lamp and sit
down in the library and wait for Will
or daylight or something or somebody
to come along and befriend him.
This second decision was final. He
stood in the hall, turned the light out,
and somehow he felt that eyes were
upon his movements. Ensconced in a
big leather chair, he had passed away
half an hour in calling himself names
and hankering after his chums scalp
when he heard faint rustic outside
the window near which he sat.
He cooked his ear toward 1t. and a
moment later he knew that some one
outside had his hands on the sash.
Sixty seconds had not gone past when
the catch was thrust over with click,
and the sash was carefully and slowly
/ raised.
Young Archer was excited, but he
Providence was sending Raf11es to
help him out of his fix. He rose and
stood beside the window with his pis-
tol III hand. He meant to shoot the
intruder If he stepped into the room,
but sudden thought made him
change the weapon end for end. The
report of the pistol would arouse the
whole house and he had tacitly prom
ised the girl upstairs to keep very
quiet. The man who had raised the
sash waited thirty seconds and then
stepped over the sill to meet blow
that dropped him like log.
He had just fallen when Will Hardin
opened the front door and entered. AS
he scratched match to see his way
upstairs he noticed the lamp on the
hall tree and lighted it, and next in.
stant his sister Betty came running
downstairs to gasp out:
"Oh, Will, we had to come home
and you didn't meet us-and mother is
very bad-and Raff1es has been here
and robbed the house-and"-
Rats interrupted the brother.
But 1t surely was Raffles. called
him Mr.. Raffies. and he didn't deny his
identity. l gave him all our jewelry
and then he came down for the plate
He acted real nice on mothers ac
count"
The library door stood partly open
and of course young Archer had hear(
all. Now was the dramatic moment
and he came forward and showed him
self. AS the girl uttered an exclama
tion and shrank back he said:
, "Wiil, there has been comedy O
, errors, with something like TRACED!
to end up with. If your sister will g
upstairs and you will come in here,
think that all can be satisfactorily ex
, planned"
And all was. 1t was done in sec
, tons and methodically. As frs
move the arms and legs of the mai
q on the floor, who was beginning to re
vive, were bound. When the masl
was torn from his face, they saw tha
he was indeed the Raffies who had tel
rorized the manor houses for Ion
= weeks.
, Then Miss Betty was brought dow
: and formally introduced to Archei
wrapper for something more appre
pirate for receiving company. The
: the stolen jewelry was restored. The
the nearest country police station wa
a telephoned to and Rafiles was n
n moved. Then the mother awoke an
O said she had had good nights slec
and felt well enough to come down
o breakfast. and she didn't faint ava
j, when told of the doings Of the night.
Then, as a sort of closing chapter
! the events, brother Will beckoned b
sister to follow him out into the shrul
berry, and when they were hidden froI
y sight of the house he turned on he
). and said:
r. isis, you are brick-a reguli
e brick"
= Nvnc ~ chn smiled