El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-03-09


park; looking at an 'ouse,
was"
He turned and eyed me brazenly.
/ "Burgling, I was" he said defiantly
| THE 'Ouse was Burcombe Manor, as
! belongs to the grand duke. It's 8
! well looked arter 'ouse, with is wire
/ netting and bars,ran' what with bolts
I and locks and burglar alarums. it 'uc
/ take a man a month Of Sundays &c
break in. I knew this But I knew
| too, Of an hellum-a largish tree
/ CROWN by the northeast corner, with
& branch about az thick as me arm
, Now this yere branch sticks out to-
/ wards the 'Ouse, and IS foot beneath
/ the end Of 1t Is window with mar
row sill I ung about TIL dark an
/ then I started climbin that tree, and
wasn't alt barked an bruised, an
/ then started edgin' along that
I branch. 1t bent under me as I got
| out, same as I thought 1t would, an
| presently it lands me as gentle as you
please on the sill 'Eavy curtains was
drawn inside, an the Winder was shut,
! but not bOlted. I 'ung on TO the sash
an let the branch Fly ruStlin' back.
Then I Stops, an as gentle as a lamb
started prism Of the Winder open.
1t ran up easy, without noise, an pres
senLy IT was wide enough for me to
slip IN. 'TWasn't no use as a way of
escape, an open winders are betrayin'
thinks. so 1 shuts i'm nOiselessly to
and gently tiptoes to the curtains,
plucl1in EN- aside and starin in.
1T fair knocked me of an 'eap-what
saW-thOugh I don't know the mean
in Of nerves, and never did.
"A 'uge four poster bed stood IN the
center of the room. At each corner
stood a candlestick-Quite q yard Ugh
they was, and the candles, lOr' lumme,
II they weren't another yard on cop.
On the bed lay a corfin-the lid off Of
1t and lynn on the floor In the cor
fine was q corpse-leastways I could
see the flee.
a mans face-white as wax. with
a milingtary mOustache
The king you've guessed it, So ]
did I tumbled to it in alt q shake.
1t 'ad bin given out as e was i'll.
Me and was tremblin' when / took
a look round the room, an me cart
seemed TO stand still afOre bOltin' on
like a shyin' 'orse when 1 spied a man
lyin' IN q huge chair in front Of she
fire It looked like a tight fit for
me, and things looked no pleasanter
when e yawned and stretched and
finally sat up in is chair
f'Opce or twice he glanced over his
shoulder at the corpse, then he yaWned
again, and kicked the logs on the fire
together.
Presently e saunters up to the cor
fin, bends over it, and then goes to
the door, opens it, and passes out
quick as thought I slips out and
stares about me for a plice to hide in
There was a sound behind me-arf
grOans arr SOD. Every air on me cad
bristled-eold. was, all over-like
hlce, an tremblin'-like a leaf. I stared
al the cOrf1n an I couldn't a moved
not If it was ever So Stared at IL
did, an saw the eyelids flicker and
open, saw and card the flowers move
and rustic which covered his chest
An e spoke, in a lingo I didn't
understand at first and then in a
'oarse whisper in English: who are
your
7 'adn't a tongue for answerin'-
like water I was-a biby could ave
pushed me over.
"'Elp me- e says There's a plot
e says Whoever you be- e says,
'eaven sent you e SAYS.
An I'm not denyin OF It though I
din't think so then.
Elp! he whispers again. and then
both Of us-we card footsteps.
7 dived under the valance OF thu
bed. No burglar ides under a bed
its oD> OF the first laws you learn
But / wasn't q burglar them was a
scared, arr paralyzed puppet, cad or
els I didn't know (nOr care neither)
which I was a-standin' on.
Then I card voices-raised voices
pretty angry ones. but I couldn't fol-
low what they said till I card the
kim speak again.
I'll not sign, e said. Marcus -
Someone asked i'm in English why
he used that lingo, but e didn't an
sWer.
"'Habdicate an live I card said.
Otherwise, bout you go - or words
to that effect
They 'ad doctors in the plot. they
said as I'D swear e died a natural
death. E was to sign habdicadon |