The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1910-12-22
The S~leepwalker
&. 80,
By ARTHUR EDWARDS
- E
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association.

And 30, my boy, you're going to the
city to take a position in business. It's
more than seventy years since l did
the same thing myself.
When I was your age I was appren-
ticed to a New York china merchant.
The apprentice usually lived in the
family of bis employer. and l lived
with the Van Horns. Mr.. Van Horns
Office was on the ground door OF his
house. the living DON being upstairs.
The house stood on the bank of the
East river, and from 1t we could see
the ships in which he was interested
come In to the slips on the other side
of the street. poking their bowsprits
almost in at u windows.
i was but fourteen years of age when
/ was %apprenticed to Mr.. Van Horn.
he had but one child, Katherine. who
was twelve, to whom l soon stood as a
brother. Before the term Of my ap-
premiership had expired we had be-
come lovers. and l preferred to remain
where l was rather than accept a po-
sition that would separate me from
Katherine. But of this Mr.. Van Horn
vas ignorant.
Meanwhile Mrs. Van Horn had died.
and her place in the household a
agement was taken by a housekeeper,
a middle aged widow named Clark.
Mrs. Clark had no sooner come into
the family than 1t was apparent that
she aimed at marrying MI. Van Horn.
By that time l was nineteen years old
and Katherine was sixteen. 1t was
natural that we should unite against
the common enemy, for Katherine was
up IN arms against any one who aspir-
ed to take her mothers place.
During my boyhood l became a SON.
nambulist. The first time l walked in
my sleep l awoke to find myself stand
ing before a mirror brushing my hair.
I was terribly shocked and, running to
my bed. covered my head and lay
trembling till morning. Another time,
when the bowsprit of a large ship ex-
tended over the house, l found myself
Ou0 u4AAk W kAC OO"SHAAN 1 Ga GU
myself from falling into the street by
catching a rope. l had gone on to the
roof. got on to the bowsprit and was
shining down.
At that time there were no safes
such as we have now. A modern safe
compared with the strong box Of that
day is like an ocean liner compared
with one Of the caravels in which Co.
lumbus crossed the Atlantic. l we'll
remember the strong box Mr.. Van
Horn kept in one Of the rooms on the
main floor Of his house. a room he
used for his private office. 1t was GOV.
cred with strips of iron interIaced like
basketwork. BUT 1t was opened by a
big iron key that would now serve for
"a stable door.
All of a sudden Mr.. Van Horn began
to miss important papers from his
strong box. He conided his loss to
Mrs. Clark. and there was at once a
great change in his treatment of me.
1t was plain to me that she had not
only opened his eyes to my relations
with his daughter. of which he had
been Obvious. but she led him to sus-
pect that l was stealing his papers.
She herself was obliv ious to nothing
that was going on and had not only
discovered that Katherine and l were
lovers. but that we stood in her way
to become Mrs. Van Horn. But Mr..
Van Horn was a secretive man. aud.
though he was seriously poisoned
against me and was ambitious for his
daughter to become the wife Of an emf
nent man. he pretended to disbelieve
the. charge against me. preferring to
set a watch upon me without letting
any one in the house know that he was
doing so. He slept with his door open
at the other end of the hall. on which
my room also faced. and since be was
a light sleeper 1t vas almost impossi-
BILE for me to leave my room without
his knowing It.
Well. M night l woke up from M
Of my somnambullstic walks. and my
establishment was as great as. II not
greater than. ever before. was
standing In the counting room on the
main door, Mr.. Van Horn was stand
ing in the door that opened into bis
private Office. while by the light OF a
candle Mrs. Clark vas e e kneeling
beside the strong box.
Go to your ROOM" aaid Mr.. Van
Horn to me. "
lost no time in doing so. but soon
recovered from the shock of my sud-
den awakening from somnambulism.
for | saw that my physical defect had
made a great change in the situation.
The next morning | saw Mrs. Clark
packing. to leave. and before noon she