The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1917-01-04
The Bold Burglar
He VIII Come Along
By and By
By M. QUAD
Copyright. 1916, by the Mcclure

By nj. QUAD
Copyright, I5Ih, by Inc McCIure
Newspaper Syndicate.

He has you on his list for a call. but
hasn't got around to it yet.
Your burglar has passed your house
many times and made good use of his
eyes while passing.
One day your house is to come on his
list, and he is ready for you or will be
at midnight, and he has patience until
the hour comes.
The bells are striking midnight-that
is, If there are any bells to strike.
You are sleeping soundly, but a creak
of door or the complaint of window
sash being raised reaches your sleep
ing ears and rouses you up. While
you rise up on your elbow to listen
your wife wakes also and asks yor
what is the matter
You would tell her If you could Al,
you can reply is that you were awak-
ened by strange sounds. and 1t Is your
opinion that there is burglar pack
ing up plumber in the rooms below.
"And what are you going TO do about
ftp she asks. with gasp in her
throat.
xii him!" you reply in bold Ian
guage.
She admires your decision, but you
are in no hurry to perform the murder
Gus feat. You know you have an au-
tomato pistol in the house, but just
where 1t is you can't think. You put
1t in some place year or two ago and
have forgotten where.
"You take long time to think about
It," says your wife. IF you don't get
up I SHALL"
You shake your finger at your wife
to keep very quiet, and you creep from
your room to the head of the stairs
You make no more noise than a blast
In the new subway. You think yon
see light in the parlor. You are not
quite sure of it. and as your wife
comes creeping along to learn II you
have killed anybody yet you ask her
| opinion about 1t. She replies that it
may be light or 1t may not be. She
will go down and investigate and come
back and tell you.
You push her aside and whisper that
you are no coward.
You have got halfway down when
| you hear the clink of knives and forks
| and spoons No cat has any use TO.
| such implements. 1t surely is bur
glar. As he takes drink out of the
bottle Of your port wine you can hear
1t gurgle down his throat No cat ever
yet drank out of bottle. No cat yet
81 hacked her lips and uttered an "Umr'
| after drinking. There Is no longer any
room for doubt. The killing must go
| forward.
"If you are not going to kill him
am" whispers the wife.
You descend another step. 1t sud.
denly strikes you that the burglar may
be the father of seven or eight chill
dren and that it will not be the square
thing to hustle him into eternity at a
seconds notice and leave the Riddles
to the mercy of this cruel world. He
should BE given chance to reform.
"Hello, old man! Are you coming
downstairs to help me pack up this
plunder?"
It was the burglar who spoke. and
there was no fear in his tone.
"Are you down therer you timidly
inquire.
"Of course l en-" he replies. II
have been here about half an hour and
you have heard nothing till Just now.
Won't you come down and greet meT'
"If you don't leave the house I will
whistle for the policev'
But you have no whistle. Ne. one
man I'm hundred carries one. If you
did whistle for the police you would
get no response from them. 1t is q
rainy night and they are leaning ar
against the bars of saloons. You have
no pistol handy and you do not keer
a baseball bat In the house. Besides
you are not hero. Your wife would
have been down here ten minutes ago
but you wouldn't let her come. Art
you going to stand there all night oil
are you coming down here and hell
me sort over the silverware? Most oil
It is plated ware, and l don't care II
lug that around with me-"
Richard, | will never live another
day with your whispers the wife.
That seems to solve the problem, and
you take a seat on the stairs and ex
claim to the man below:
"Old fellow, | am going to shou
from one Of the front windows. ant
I'll get you a sentence of ten years
II have to sell the house to pay the
lawyer
81 would If l were you, but yol
won't" came the answer, with laugh
added to 1t. 'In about ten minutes
shall be ready to move on, and yoI
can go back to bed or come down ant
talk Il over between yourselves.
hope there will be no family row fol
lowing this visit of mine. for have ;
conscience about such things. II yol
had the common prudence you'd loci
your windows and I should not b.
here. All had to do was to raise thu
! sash II waa ne oaav nc eating n ha