Year: 1873




There are men who dispute what
they do not understand. Mr.. Coville
rs such a man. When he heard a
carpenter say there we're SO many
shinkles on the roof of his honse
because the roof contained so many
square feet, Coyille doubted the f9.
ures, and when the carpenter went
away, he determined TO test the mat.
ter by going on the roof and eonht-
ing them. And he went up there.
lie squeezed through the scuttle-
Coville weighs 230-and then sat
down on the roof and worked his
way carefully and deliberately tow
ard the gutter.


When he got part way down, he
neard a noise between him and the
shingles, and became aware that
there was an interference some way
to his further locomotion. He tried
to turn over and crawl back, but the
obstruction held him. Then he
tried to move along a little, in hopes
that the trouble would prove but
temporary; but an increased sound
convinced him that either a nail or
silver had hold of his cloth, and
that if he would save any of it he
must use caution. His folks were in
the house, but he could not make
them hear, and besides he did not
want to attract the attention of the
neighbors. So he sat there until af-
ter dark and thought.


1t would have been an excellent
opportunity to have counted the
shingles, but he neglected to use it.
His mind appeared to run into other
channels. He sat there an hour af-
ter dark, seeing no one he could no
tify OF his position. Then he saw
two boys approach the gate from the
house, and reaching there, stop. 1t
was light enough for him to see that
one of the two was his son, and al
though he objected to having the
other boy know of his misfortune, he
had grown tired of holding on to the
rocf, and concluded he could bribe
the strange boy into silence.


With this arrangement mapped
out, he took out his knife and threw
it so that it would strike near the
boys and attract their attention. 1t
struck nearer than he Anticipated.
In fact, 1t struck so close as to hit
the strange boy on the head and
nearly brain him. As soon as he
recovered his equilibrium he turned
on Coyille's boy, who, he was con
fident, had attempted to kill him,
and introduced some astOnishment
and bruises in his face. Then he
threw him down and kicked him in
the side and banged him on the head
and threw him over into the gutter
and pounded his legs, and hauled
him back to the walk again and
knocked his head against the gate.


All the while the elder Coville sat
on the roof and cried "Policep' but
couldn't get away. And then Mrs.
Coville dashed out with q broom,
and contributed a few novel features
TO the affair at the gate, and one of
the boarders dashed out with a
double barrelled gun, and hearing
the cries from the roof, looked mp
there, and espying a figure which
was undoubtedly q burglar, drove a
handful of shot into its legs.


With a howl of agony, Coville
made plunge to dodge the missels,
freed himself from the nail, lost his
hold to the roof, and went sailing
down the shingles with awful veloci
ty, both legs spread out, his hair on
end, and his hands making desperate
but fruitless efforts to save himself.
He tried 10 swear, but was so
frightened that he lost his power Of
speech, and when he passed over the
roof, with twenty feet of tin gutter
hitched to him, the boarder gave
him the contents of the other barrel
and then dove into the house to
load up again. The unfortunate
Coville struck into a cherry tree,
and thence bounded to the ground,
where he was recognized, picked up
by the assembled neighbOrs and car
ried into the house.


A new doctor is making good day
wages picking the shot out Of his
legs. The boarder has gone into
the country to spend the summer,
and the junior CoYille, having Sc
questered piece of brick in his
handkerchief, is laying low for that
other boy. He says that before the
calm of another Sabbath rests on
New England there will be another
boy in Danbury who can't wear a