Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1911-07-27
To the Rescue

The fact that Yarp was fathoms deep
in noisy slumber, utterly undisturb-
ed by her restless wakefulness, was
an added annoyance.
1t was extremely unfeeling and bru-
tai of him, to say the least, to be stor-
Ing up freshness and energy for the
morrow, while she most decidedly
was doing nothing of the sort. Re-
pressing desire to smite him, Mrs
Yarp arose and got drink of water
Then she wandered to the open front
windows in the hope of finding a
breeze.
Suddenly all the mists in her brain
were dissipated in one Illuminating
flash. She had seen light in the
Bargers' house across the way!
The Bargers had gone two weeks
before to their summer home in Wis
consin and had carefully boarded up
leaving no caretaker
1t was a Pickering light and Mrs.
Yarp could see it move through the
second floor hall into bedroom. Then
it came out and evidently wandered
downstairs. Again it dfscreetly and
fickeringly came up.
Mrs. Yarp with two bounds reached
the side Of her slumbering husband
and shook him violently. Henry!
Henry!" she cried.
'Lemme bel" murmured Henry.
There was really nothing else for
her to do, SO she pulled his hair VIC
lently. Thereupon Yarp sat up with
rush. Have you gone crazy, Eva
linda?" he inquired.
There are burglars in the Barg-
ers' housed" Mrs. Yarp Kissed at him.
"Burglars!"
Burglars at the Bargers'?' Yarp
repeated with alliterative relish at
sounds like vaudeville sketch"
Henry" interrupted his exasper-
ated wife, eff you don't get up this
minute and do something, I'LL.
Pretty sort of neighbors we'd be,
wouldn't we, if we let them carry off
all the Bargers' things? Get up!'
Yarp obeyed and scrambled int
some clothes. He regarded with ris-
ing excitement the light which was
still Pickering about.
It'd better telephone the police sta
tion,' he said. Maybe we can catch
them!"
"They must have broken in at the
rear somewhere" said Mrs. Yarp as
she feverishly put on a kimono and
one black and one brown shoe. Now,
don't you go and get shot, Henry!
Why can't you stand outside and
| shout at them?'
| Yarp's reply to this was combina-'
ton of snort and howl. Already he
| was down the stairs and Mrs. Yarp
was following.
The patrol wagon soon stopped
block away and the three policemen
and Yarp conversed in dark mass
under the big oak tree in front. Leav-
Ing one man to guard the boarded up
front of the lBarger house the others
made a sortie to the rear.
l On the Yarps' front porch Mrs.
Yarp chung to post and strained her
1
the Bargers' house Yarp and the two
officers prowled carefully. They
found that the boarding on the base
ment door had been removed. Yarp
and one policeman stole inside, leav-
Ing the other on guard in the rear
Yarp's knowledge of the house was a
help, though occasionally the police
man flashed his lantern. Up into the
silent kitchen and the stuffy dining
room they prowled. Apparently moth
ing had been disturbed.
"They must be beginning upstairs"
whispered the officer"
Yarp's heart thumped as they crept
up the stairs, pausing at every STEP
Once a board creaked Yarp could
hear his companions heavy breathing.
They gained the top There was no
light visible
Yarp did not dare whisper. The
sudden awful thought that the intru-
ders had discovered them coming. and
and were waiting in ambush to pounce
; upon them paralyzed him. Perspira-
tion was streaming from his brow A
shut up house on hot night is ex-
tremely warm.
As they walked into the front bed.
room something heavy hurtled at
them, and the policeman and Yarp
went down in crash, while stimuli
taneously shrieks arose. They could
hear the racket below as the man on
guard in the rear stumbled to their
rescue. Mrs. Yarp across the street
acded her voice to the excitement.
"Henry's killed! He's killed." she
walled. The man in front was beat
ing on the boarded door, there being
nothing else for him to do.
When the second policeman reach
ed the scene and turned on the light
of his bull's-eye lantern it disclosed
: Yarp, policeman No. l and Barger
himself giving an imitation of the Lin.
coin statue tangle. Covering in a
. corner was Mrs. Barger. Barger and
Yarp blinked at each other dazedly,