The Retired Burglar

"I don't thiuk I was ever very rnuch scared, "%aid the retired burglar, "but I have beea as muub scared by slight, little thiiigs, that were of ao real account, as by auything else. For instance, by the scratohing of a rat, starting up suddenly and running around in the wall. I was never more disturbed than I was once by the absolute stillness of aroom that I was iu. It was dead and oppressive, and I couldn't account for it. "I swuug my lamp around and saw the usual things that you nright expect to see in such a rooin - it was a dining room - inclnding a clock on the inantel. It was a penduluru olock, one of the kind that has a little olear space in the lower part of the glass front, through which you can see the peudulum as it swings back and forth. The lamp simply swept across the face of the clock, as I swnng it around, but an instant later I realized that I had seen no pendulum swinging back and forth behind that clear space. It wasn't swinging. The clock had stopped. "I set rny lamp on the shelf and opened the door of the clock and started up the pendulum, and then I heard the regular ticking of the clock. And that was all that was wanted. But what a relief it was to hear it ! I could sort out the spoons now with a cheerful spirit."