Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-07-20
My Burglary
1t He'd Farreach:ng
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By ELINOR MARSH

I am of an artistic temperament.
From my earliest girlhood l had loved
beautiful scenes. 1 took to drawing
pictures early and In time became a
water color sletcher. In summer time
l drove around in a vehicle called a
rockaway, drawn by an old horse that
had been In my family a long while
and in whom I had every confidence.
At night | would sometimes stop at
q hotel. sometimes at d farmhouse, and
occasionally would place my blankets
on grassy ground and spend the night
in bivouac.
One evening when I was some miles
from a town, which l expected to
reach before dark, Bob went lame.
Looking about for shelter-for 1 could
not get on with a lame horse-I espied
a short distance ahead Of me, perched
on a ledge, Il cottage. 1t was as artistic
a piece of architecture as / ever saw,
with its grounds and vines growing
over it. Indeed, the tout ensemble
constituted a thing of beauty. If /
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night there | would be delighted.
I managed to get Bob to the gateway
of the place and up d short winding
road leading to the house. / was dis
appointed in not seeing any one about,
and as | drew near it occurred to me
that the place was u~noccupied. The
blinds were not closed and there was
Dnthinp RI Ia 70 4hat tha ba,1co uuaS
empty. What was it that told me that
the Place was deserted?
Leaving Bob standing in the road
way, | went to the house and raped
on the front door with a brass knocker.
1t did not seem to me, if there had
been any one within, that those knocks
would have sounded so hollow. / listen
ed, but there was no indication of any
one stirring. Going around to the rear
1 failed to see any indication of a liv-
ing being. There were no chickens, no
dog, not eve a lonely cat. Only a
few flowers in beds near the house that
/ judged grew without being cultivated.
There was a woodshed and some wood
in it, but plenty of room for Bob in
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Looking in at a window, I saw d
library with a fine broad fireplace and
among the furniture a large lounge.
The sash was locked, and / went to
other windows, but found them locked
also. A trellis led to an upper window.
1t looked easy to climb, and I went up
1t and found the sash unlocked. / went
into q bedroom and doGn Q staircase
The front door vas locked and nc key,
but l opened a side door by turning
the latch.
l could understand the fascination of
burglary so interested was I in appro-
priating the premises to my use for the
night. There was a zest in temporarily
owning this place, so beautiful and yet
so desolate, which was enhanced by
my having to break into it and learn
what there was suited to my necessi-
ties.
The next thing was to unharness
Bob and give him his supper. Then |
went into the house with my lunch box,
In which l always kept something and
In which l To- fortunately had enough
to satisfy my appetite. There were
c%upboards in which eatables might be
stored, but they were locked. After
eating 1 lighted a lamp in the library
and looked over the books. 1t was evil
dent that whoever had filed these
shelves was a well educated and intel
ligent person. l have never before
come upon a library in which every
book had a value. And what surprised
me most was that some of the books
were up to date. l read till quite late,
then, throwing myself on the lounge,
put out the lamp and went to sleep.
On awakening In the morning I was
astonished to detect the odor of coffee.
What did it mean? Was the house,
after all, occupied? Had the occupants
returned late? | arose and went into
the dining ROOM. The table was set for
breakfast, but for only one person.
Hurrying on, l entered the kitchen. On
the range a kettle was simmering, and
there was q coffee pot that emitted the
odor. \ toast rack stood on the range,
filed, and a couple of eggs were ready
for boiling.
l started to find whoever had come
In, to apologize for my burglary, and.
not finding any II on the ground
floor, went cautiously upstairs. The
bedroom doors were open as / had left
them the night before, but no one was
in any of them. The house was as free
from any person except myself as it
was when broke into it.
l went downstairs again, looked
about. me and listened. There was no
sound Save the simmering kettle in the
kitchen.
Was l in my right mind7 Was 1
asleep and dreaming? Was I enacting
a play for a movie show?
But the odor of the coffee, the re
membrance of the toast and the eggs.
to say nothing of a dish of radishes
and some tempting butter on the break
fast table. overpowered wonder, and,