Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-11-07
PATSY KILDARE
THE OUTLAW
BY JUDD MORTIMER LEWIS
The MESSENGER

T DO not know how long l had slept WIN
L one arm around Rowdy's neck and my
face on him for a pillow when I heard
Rowdy growing inside OF himself I do not
think l would have heard him II my ear
had not been against him. 1 woke up ana
heard some one moving in the old mans
bedroom, and then I heard a voice calling
not very loud, Patsy! Patsy Patsy" l
was awfully glad and so I said. Here l
am! What do you want?" The voice said'
"where?" l said Right under you. II you
will drop a match through the crack In the
floor and put your eye to the crack VIII
light the match and you can see me-
knew by this time that 1t was the bur-
glar talking. He dropped match and lit
It and held II till II burned my finger ana
went out. He said, well, that's tough
place to sleep" / said, Isn't that the
truth?" He said, III you feel that way
about 1t why do you sleep there?' / said,
Il crawled under here for something ana
the man who is a hundred years old smut
us in He says he is going to Keep us mere
till we die"
Just then I heard a funny sound and
Rowdy barked and then kept still. and |
heard the man who Is hundred years old
laughing In his crazy way. ana the burglar
did not speak again. Pretty soon sometnhhB
warm dropped on my hand and then there
was noise like something rubbing across
the floor and the old man moving along az
the same time. Rowdy and followed II
underneath the floor till It went out the
front door, and that was as far as we could
go. I called to the burglar lot OF times
but he did not answer.
After long time the board where we
came in was taken away so quietly that
guess | would not have known 1t btt Tor
Rowdy He made a dash for the hole ana
followed him. When I got outside 1t was
much lighter than 1t had been under the
house, and / could see the man VINO is
hundred years old lying on the ground with
Rowdy's feet, ,on him, and the burglar lying
close by. I found out afterward that while
the burglar was peekng through the crack
the old man had sat up in his bed ana
bammed him with his cane. Then he had
dragged the burglar around to the window
and would have polted him under the house
within VRowdy and me if 1t had not been
for Rowdy. The old man told me so him.
self before I would let Rowdy get off him.
When let the old man go he got UP and
went into the house and l got some water
and gave Rowdy and me drink and poured
the rest on the burglars head Pretty soon
he sat up and did not know where he was
till told him He had lump on the back
Of his bean as big as an egg and his hair
was full of blood. ] did not tell him about
the money under the house He just rubbed
the lump on his bean and said. wouldn't
that get your goat?" I told him 1t GER
and got his crutch and we went TO Mr.. Rock
rudder's, but it took us a long time, because
he had to rest so often. We got there In
time for breakfast and the burglar did not
want me to go to school today, but l told
him he was crazy in the bean. He said he
had had a bad dream about me last night,
and he knew l had never stayed all night at
the house of the man who is hundred
years old, except the night when Rowdy
chased away the hoboes. So he thought l
might be in trouble, and took his crutch
and went to look for me.
When / prayed tonight. l said: Dear
mother, which art in heaven, you can't put
it over on me, for know it was you who
sent that dream to the burglar to get him to
go and find me. That is the way angels
have of getting people to do things for
them. But for cats sake what did you let
the burglar get blammed on the bean for
when he was doing what you sent him to
do? l suppose il was a joke and you didn't
know the old man could hit so hard Thank
you and God, anyway. Amen"
Treasure Trove" the next Patsy Kildare
adventure, appears in Thursdays Evening
Ledger.