Omaha daily bee., 1922-06-14

sss~s ~seSsSsS S~S0es
The nearer ! came TO my mother.
in.lsw's room upon our bizarre er.
rand. the more iaint-hear,ed ! be.
came. Katies monkey.like clever.
ness in hiding In my mother-in.
laws quarters the paper she had ab.
strae,ed, did not appear like clever
ness. but monumental idioey. by the
time ! reached the door behind
which Mother Graham was peace
fully sleeping. t.
Katie put her hand upon my arm
and her lips close 70 my ear.
"Plees, ! don't like 60 In, she keel
me eef she wake oop und hnd me
shopping round her Toom."
With an effort ! repressed the In.
clina,ion to inquire fiercely in re-.
turn. what fate she thought awaited
me were my august mother-in.law TO
waken, but ! turned instead and
tensely whispered:
"Where Is il hidden?"
"You know dot pretty box nit
roses und pictures OF old.time ladies
und mems on III"
"You mean her hat box" gssped
with a mental vision OF the pride
Of my mother-in-laws heart--a fancy
and costly millinery box, decorated
with old English scenes and narrow
borders OF roses. inside which re-
posed her very best hat.
Dots the one" Katie whispered
back, and I could have shaken her
for the nonchalance in her manner.
Katie patiently had cast her burdens
upon me and was worrying no
longer.
A Tense Moment.
"Its on top shelf in closet" she
went on. IL saw eet ven / busted
room yesterday. You can hook eet
shoost as easyl See! I'll hold door
open. You shoost grab eet and run,
und l close door after you"
Don't dare to touch the door," !
whispered. setting my teeth for the
ordeal in front OF me. go back down
stairs and wait for me. I'll manage
this. Softly. now. Hush! Not an
other word"
She scuttled obendiently and-to
her credit-noiselessly down the
stairs, and I waited beside the door
for long two minutes to see if my
mother -in-law had awakened. But
the rasping sounds Of what she
euphoniously terms heavy breathing
but which Dicky describes as the
"sincerest snoring on Long Island"
went on without interruption.
So, with tense nerves and quickly
beating pulses, turned the knob
with infinite caution. pushed the door
ajar and slipped into the room. I
had taken the precaution to turn out
the hall light, that she might not be
awakened BY its sudden CLEAN, so
I left the door ajar that / might be
able to escape quickly and noise.
lessly.
ooh! I Forgot"
I held my breath as l made my
way to the clothes closet, deciding
that even the highly-colored life OF
a fiction burglar was not worth while.
And while I was lifting the box
down, recognizing it by touch
rather than sight, and making my
painful way back to the door, / was
listening tensely to the regular
snores and thanking my particular
little joss for their volume.
reached the door without mishap,
passed into the hall, closed the door
after me, relighted the lamp, and
went swiftly down the stairs, hug
ging to my breast the assurance that
l had succeeded in my mission. True,
there lurked in the background the
ordeal Of getting the bandbox back
to its place, but I did not have to
consider shat for another half hour
or so, and I was frankly triumphant
as we'll as consumedly curious, when
I rejoined Katie in the hall below.
did you get eet?" she whispered
excitedly.
Eyes! Hush" I returned as hur-
ried her into the library, locked the