Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-10-29
Romance Of a
Back Yard
By DWIGHT NORWOOD

NAA(A
looks out on the back windows of
houses on another street, | saw a tiny
white handkerchief pinned to the win
dow sill. The same afternoon, going
to my room, l was about to open the
blinds when l saw through the Stats a
pretty girl kiss her hand to some one
In the house adjoining my domicile.
She at NICE disappeared, but 1t vas
evident that a Irritation, perhaps one
that had developed into an affair of
the heart, was in progress.
After this l saw many a signal in
the window opposite which | would
probably not have recognized as such
had l not seen the throwing Of the
kiss. My next door neighbor, Of course,
| could not see, but l had noticed a
good looking young man going and com-
ing, and l presumed that he was tho
fortunate possessor of the young lady's
favor.
l was n afternoon sitting at my
window. with the blinds closed, when
through a crack between the Stats l
saw a pantomime between the lovers.
The girl looked down into her back
yard and shook her head. After she
had left her window I looked down
into his back yard myself. 1t was in
closed in a high brick wall topped
with broken glass. l was not long In
deciphering the %pantomime. The girl
had put a veto on her lovers under
taking to effect an entrance to her
premises over the wall.
About a week after this I saw a ne
gro bring a barrel into the back yard
through a rear basement door. He
set it down very carefully and turned
to go away. He had taken but a few
steps when he turned, went back to
the barrel and busted himself examin-
ing the head, which l could see vas
not fastened in the usual way. While
he was doing this his lips moved.
Moreover, l saw something passed
from the barrel to his hand. Present
ly he went away again and this time
disappeared through the basement
door.
a ACatihS tONC olOAJ AIAOo
words, or, rather, vas seeing one en-
acted, not on the stage, but in real life.
1t struck me that something would oc-
cur In the premises on the other side
of the wall. Should | be mean enough
to spy with a view to satisfying my
curiosity? Would it be mean tt enjoy
what / could of a drama in real life?
The barrel was deposited shortly be-
fore my dinner hour, which was g
o'clock. After dinner darkness had
fallen. Without turning on my lights
l took a seat at the window. The
space between my home and the
houses In the real of it was dimly WIS.,
ible from the lights of the houses
shining upon it. 1 could barely discern
the barrel standing where it had been
placed. Not caring to reveal myself by
lighting my room, / concluded to while
away the time in the darkness by
smoking. 1 had consumed half a dozen
cigarettes and was thinking that If
there was any one in the barrel he
must be pretty well cramped when
something rose out of its top end.
There was a pause; then something
larger followed. Curiosity sharpened
my eyes, and / saw a bulk that looked
like q mans figure get out of the barrel.
take 1t up and proceed with 1t to a cor
ner In the wall, where he was hidden
from me. l fancied he was using the
barrel for concealment from the oppo-
site direction.
That's the last Of him for me-" I
remarked, ''till the lights are put out"
Nevertheless | was too interested to
leave my post. l smoked till l fell
asleep. When / awoke it vas II
o'clock, and there was but n light in
the house visible to me, and that was
in the room of the heroine of my story.
AS l looked it was turned off.
I was now thoroughly awake and be-
neved that | had no great time to wait
to see something more. | was right.
Not long after the last light was turned
off I saw the space occupied by the
basement door of the house l was
watching grow darker. indicating that
the door was being opened. Then
something stood in the opening. A dark
spot fitted from the wall to the door,
entered and the door closed.
l regretted that the elopement-for
such l believed 1t to be-could not
have been effected over the rear wall,
where / could have seen it. They would
go out the front basement door.
l went to bed and had just fallen
asleep when | heard the crack Of a
pistol. Rising, | looked through the
window at the house of my story. The
basement and the two upper floors were
lighted. l saw figures passing before
the windows, but heard nothing. Aft
er awhile the lights began to be turned
off, and in time all was again dark.
The next morning / saw In my news
paper an account of an attempted rob-
berry of premises 70 Elm street. The
police were called in, but the robber
had escaped-nobody hurt, nothing