The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1911-09-16
Caught i'oHis
Ou,,1 Trap

-.ya been led to suppose.
VIZ y. nrided himself particu 'arly on
..,n, fences and his smooth lawns
Us sa,de with not a weed to be seen
aDu -hore But especially he prlded
..a,soN IN his cantaloupe garden. lie
sns ibid out the ground with great
1 manfred it highly, worked II
GOV. ..n and mellow. imported the seeds
a a and planted them with great
10 After the vines were up ne
"a I'd watched them faithfully. killing
M hugs one by one, which Is the
anly way, and getting up an hour
.,rier than usual every morning with
ri, especial purpose in view
~ and by the melons began to
linen and Luke was in high spirits.
~ had, indeed, fine lot OF them and
= Vas perhaps quite excusable in him
70 feel proud Of them. Already ne
had selected one for the minister, one
I'M Deacon Smallhead, and one for
p.,vs the new doctor These were
!, no presented when they were fully
n. and Luke was continually expa-
caring mon the gratitude and delight
9TH which they would be received.
1udee of Luke's dismay when he
fo,nd on going out to inspect his
.,easures as usual one morning that
me very identical melons he had Sc
lated for the three gentlemen we
lave mentioned were misslng
With mad haste he searched the
whole grounds, but the best melons
we're nowhere to be found. He COM
e.lled his wife and the two hired men
md bis sons, Jack and George, to join
d the search; but it was all OF no
ayajl-the cantaloupes had disappear
a and refused to be discovered.
Luke decided that he would nix
things for the thieves. In the first
place be set couple Of steel traps IN
he melon patch, and in the next
place he would lie awake that night
and II be heard the least sound any
where he would jump out of bed, seize
bic old musket, and pursue the ras-
Gals.
But, being a rather sleepy man, he
rot into such q profound nap that he
lid not awake until day dawn. and
then when he went to his melons he
found there were three more gone!
And the traps were not sprung. either!
M. Edgerley was in dreadful
Jats Of mind all day, but when night
came he refused to go to bed. He
vas going to sit up and watch his mel
uns So he crouched in a corner of
The lot behind some currant bushes
md waited.
About ten o'clock he heard a
stealthy footstep. Raising himself on
Bis elbow he looked around. There
vas no moon and the stars were faint
b hazy sky, but still there was
light enough to show him a tall, gaunt
dgure. clad in white. loomed up before
hin. In the dim light the figure look
d supernaturally tall, and Luke was
: devont believer in ghosts. The sight
q this specter struck terror to his
soul
The white figure advanced nearer,
vfh slow, deliberate steps. as If 1t
new there were traps set. BY and
PHI stopped down, picked off melon.
80 cane straight toward Luke. Ter
M GOT the better Of our hero. Fling
q away bis musket, he struck a bee
me Tor the house, right across the
melon vines, all unmindful Of the
usps. In an instant he was fast by
aae loot, and, not realizing what had
sappened and thinking he was in the
uaseh Of the ghost, he gave a ire
nsndous leap forward, and was
aasnt By the other foot In the other
tsp.
10 Increase his dismay the specter
u bearing down upon him. with a
we melon under each arm.
Luxe uttered an unearthly yell.
ssaen reached the ears of every
e.sepes In the house and caused the
saut % drop the plumber with a wild
s1ean Of alright.
Grab her, boys! Grab her." cried
80 % the hired men, who had APP
ea on the scene in very scanty
el Don't let her git off,"
oa' me woman-for 1t evidently
~ = woman-leaped through the
. 81 bushes, screaming at the top
voice for Luke, Luke" and
pIed In the direction of the
-. Hars!" cried Mr.. Edgerley.
sounded like Sally's voice. You
suppose-it can't be-dear me!
e ssat' everything."
ssen't heard you say that your
Z sleepwalker?" asked one
2 5inks!" cried Mr.. Edgerlev
r.. 9 nit It, Styles. And she's the
ss UNDO my legs. I'm nigh about