CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11367, 9 May 1900, Page 3

CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

AN INNOCENT ROBBER.

A YOUNG GUEST'S MISTAKE. Last August my parents let me go for a visit to Dick Dobson, my chum at Bagster School, whoso family live in the West Indies, and who spends his holidays at Ternchester with his uncle, a jolly old" bachelor, whose domestic establishment is run by three old, old servants— white-headed housekeeper, a grey-headed cook, and a " boy," who has been rheumatic for about forty years. A sleepier, more comfortable household I can't imagine. Everybody in Ternchester seemed to know Dick, The first morning I was there he took me out to see the'town, and I got all wound up by turning round to see where every "Mornm 1 , Dick," or "H'lo, Dick," came from. Rather trying Dick is to a fellow like me, who wishes to mind his own business and let other people mind theirs. One morning, about a week after my visit began, we went for a swim in the river just outside the town, and there we saw a man and a boy fishing on the sandbar, and so, of course, Dick must go down and investigate. On getting closer to the fishing party 1 saw they were a pretty tough couple, but that made no difference to Dick.

" Fishing?" he'said, by way of an opener. "Looks like it," said the man, with a husky voice.

"Catch anything?" asked Dick, looking into a basket half full of miserable perch. The boy laughed. "Remarkable smart kid, eh, Jim?" he said to the man.

" Kid yourself," grinned Dick. " Say, why don't you get some decent worms 'stead of these trash?" He was peeping in the old tomato can which served them as bait-box.

"Where'd we get 'em?" asked the boy. "Up in my uncle's garden ;" and then he told them where it was and all about himself, and he finally brought the boy homo with him, and dug about a quart of worms for him, and introduced him to Brutus, and gave him a piece of plum-pudding. You can't help liking Dick ; he's so friendly. " Well," I said, when the strange boy left us, "you're a simpleton if ever there was one 1"

"Yes, eh? Why?" " Blabbing away to those toughs ! Fetching the young one up here I" "What's the harm, anyhow?" "Those are the very sort," I went on, "that get information out of fellows like you, and come around on dark night* to make us", of it. Burglary's the harm !" said I. "S'pose they did come? Brutus would soon fix 'em."

Brutus had not made friends with the strange boy, but he doesn't make friends with everybody. A more sullen, keep-to-yourself mastiff can't be found. Ho does what pleases him, goes where he chooses, has the liberty of the whole house, and no questions asked. " I've my doubts about him fixing burglars, particularly as that, boy's voice is mighty like yours," I said, to tease him; but it was true.

" Oh, drop it," said Dick, and I did; but I was really afraid those toughs would be trying to get into the house some night. Well, the very next evening, Dick and his uncle and I had been at the church to a sort of party in the vestry—there was raspberry short cake—and when we came back, the three old servants had gone to bed. "Will you fellows see that the lower windows are all fastened?" said Dick's uncle. " And put the cat out if you can find her in." I put her out myself, fastening the window after leaving her on the sill. Then we went to bed.

It was horribly warm. Dick kept mo awake for a long time, moaning and tossing on his bed at the other side of the room.

"Oh, I'll never go to sleep, Stubby," he whined.

" Oh, I wish it was morning. Oh, hang it, how hot it is."

At last I fell asleep. It seemed tho next minute when I was awake again. There was not a sound but that of deep, heavy snoring coming from Dick's bed. A fellow doesn't wake suddenly in the middle of the night for no reason at all. I sat up, listening. A glimmer of light came from a lamp at the end of the hall, Slowly a shadow fell in from the hall; slowly and without a sound it lengthened. I grabbed the bedclothes— and in came the cat.

I almost laughed out as she came sliding up to my bed, her tail waving over her back —and then my jaw fell. How did she get in? I knew I had put her out, but with her presence in the house as evidence against me, I couldn't have sworn to having done so. There was nothing for it but to put her out again. I got bold-spirited without much trouble, and-was on my way downstairs with her purring in my arm's, when Dick's uncle called out, " Who's there?"

Before I could answer a voice came up the stairs—"lt's only me, uncle." The cat slid out of my arms. It was Dick's voice; but I could hear him snoring in bed. And then in a flash I guessed what had happened, and who had called out with Dick's voice. I was afraid to move. The cat nibbed her back against my bare legs, and I would have screamed if' I had been able to utter a sound. Rut in the end the cat gave me courage to look cautiously over the bannister. Rut what I saw made my hair rise. A dim light was shining on the wall opposite the dining-room door. Not only did I see the light on the wall, but it was blotted out and unblotted by a body passing back and forth. I clung to the bannister as a window slid down. Then I saw the shadow of a face on the wall.

And through it all I heard the peaceful snoring from Dick's room. I would have given anything to be back there, but what I did was to go as softly as I could on tiptoe into Dick's uncle's room. He was still awake and he turned over, looking at me with his head just over the pillow. "Sh! it's me," I whispered; and I went to the side of the bed, and put my mouth to his ear.

" Please don't speak out loud. There are burglars in the dining-room—no, I'm not talking in my sleep, sir." I was feeling as bold as a lion now.

"How do you know?" whispered Dick's uncle.

" Heard themsaw the light. It was one of them, a boy, that called out to you just now. No, it wasn't Dick. Dick's asleep. Can't you hear him snoring?" "By' Jove, yes," said Dick's uncle, listening. " It's only a man and a boy," I said, " I know who they are." Dick's uncle got out of bed and opened a drawer of his dressing-table. When ho came back he slipped something cold into my hand. "Take this—don't bo afraid of it— down the back stairs— is no carpet on them, and you are lighter than I. I will go the front way. Do you think you can?" I looked at what I knew was a tiny revolver in my hand, swallowed hard, and said, Yes."

" Now, go quietly to the door of the din-ing-room leading to the -kitchen. When I shout, come to the door suddenly, cover the boy with your revolver, but don't pull the trigger; it is just to frighten them. I will cover the man."

How I managed to get down those back stairs I don't know. But I did, and found the door at the foot of them open. I had been dreading to open that door. I pictured myself rattling the handle and the man, hearing me, rushing at me, firing point blank into my face. Every nerve quivering with expectation of the shout from Dick's uncle, I reached the dining-room door, and crouched against the wall beside it. The door was open, and a light shone out. Hour after houi seemed to pass. I could hear padded footsteps, and the clinking of glassware, and I thought that I heard whispering and that the padded footsteps were approaching me. Only 1 nearly dropped the revolver as I thought I saw an eye looking through the crack in the door at me. Why didn't Dick's uncle shout? What I would have done if he had shouted I don't know. As for pointing the revolver—why, I could hardly hold it. Slowly I slid my head around the door—a little more, an inch more—till my whole head was exposed. My brain refused to work at first. I knew I whs looking at Dick Dobson making lemonade there by the light of a candle-, but somehow I couldn't think. I stared at him as ho stirred the lemonade around with a spoon, and watched him with great interest as ho drank it down slowly. I was even about to call for him to leave ball for. me, before I remembered what I had come down for.

Dick saw me as lie was putting down the glass. It slid out of his fingers, and rolled in a half-circle on the table till the candle stopped it. Dick went white as a sheet at my ghostly look, and then tried to laugh.

" Say, don't do a thing like that," he said, his lips moving stiffly. " Want some lemonade? Wheugb. You scared me. Why in the mischief didn't you speak? Here's the other half of the lemon— squeeze it for you." "How long have you been down here?" I gasped. "Me? Quite a while. I was trying to cool off by hanging out of the window." He filled the glass with water and handed it to me, " Jove, I guess I scared you, too," he said.

"I didn't expect to see you hero when I left you upstairs snoring like a brute." "Why, that's just who it is," laughed Dick. " It's Brutus. His snoring woke me. He was sleeping at the foot of my bed. Why don't you drink that—isn't that what you came down for?" "Not exactly," I said, looking at the lemonade.

"Whatfor, then?" i " To put out the cat partly, and—" "The cat," said Dick. " Why. I let her inat least she came in when 1 opened the window. Where is she?"

"Gone out again, I s'pose," said I, and then I drank the lemonade; and Dick's uncle came in, and there was an explanation, and Mr. Richard Dobson and Dicky aro such good fellows, both of them, that they didn't laugh at me at all, but seemed to think my expectations of burglary were reasonable, and my conduct wise. You see, Dicky and his uncle never forgot that I was their guest.