Year: 1873

J


There are men who dispute what they
do not understand. Mr.. Coyille is such
a man. When be heard o carpenter say
that there were 80 many shingles on the
roof Of his house, because the roof con-
tained so many square feet, Covill e|
doubted the figures, and when the car
penter went away he determined to test
the matter by going up on the roof and
counting them. He squeezed through
the scuttle--Coville weighs 230-and
then sat down on the roof and worked
his way carefully and deliberately toward
the CUSTER, When he get part way down,I
he heard q sound between lin and the
shingles, and became aware that there
was an interference, some way, in 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 didn't want to attract the
attention of his neighbors. So he sat
there until after dark and thought. 1t
would have been an excellent opportu-
nifty to have counted the shingles, but ne
neglected to use it. His mind appeared
! to run in other channels. He sat there
an hour after dark. seeing no one he
could notify 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 boys was his son, and although he
objected to having the other boy know
of his misfortune,yet he had grown tired
of holding on to the roof,and concluded
he could bribe the strange boy into 81
lence With this arrangement mapped
out, he took out his knife and threw it
so that it would strike near to the boys
and attract heir attention. 1t struck
nearer than he anticipated. In fact it
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 Covilles boy, who, he was
confident, had attempted to Kill him, and
introduced some astonishmcnt and brui
ses in his face. Then he threw him
down, and kicked him in the side and
banged him on the head, and drew him
over into the gutter, and pounded his
legs, and then hauled him back to the
walk again and knocked his head against
the gate. And all the while the elder
Coyille sat on the roof and screamed for
the police, but couldn't get away. And
then Mrs. Coville dashed out with a
broom, and contributed few novel fea-
lures to the affair at the gate, and one of
the 'boarders dashed sout with double.
barreled gun, and hearing the cries from
the roof, looked up and there espying a
figure, which was undoubtedly bur
glar, drove handful Of shot into its
legs, With howl of agony CoviHe
made plunge to dodge the missile, freed
himself from the nail, lost his hold to
the roof,and went sailing down the shin
giles with awful velocity, both legs spread
out, his hair on end, and his hands max
ing desperate but fruitless efforts to save
himself He tried to swear, but was so
frightened that he lost his power OF
speech, and when he passed over the
edge of the roof, with twenty feet OF tin
gutter hitched to him, the boarder gave
him the contents Of the other barre, land
then drove into the house to load up
again. The unfortunate Coville struck
into cherry tree, and thence bounded
to the ground, where he was recognized
picked up by the assembled neighbors
and carried into the house A new doc
tor 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 Coville, having
sequestered piece of brick in his hand.
kerchief,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 cap.