A Retired Burglar's Story

'I thlnk tlml nbout as curlous an expertenee as I ever liad," said a retin-d burglar to a reporter, ''I had iu a town in Western Pennsylvania. I had grot iiitf) a Cine big house without mueh trouble, and had found ;a u-ii-ii I got tnside Jusl as i expeeted to iind tliem. 'i'heve was gome sin in the dinlng-i-oom, and I hipped a tew 111 tle bhinga that Icould get into my overcoat pockets handlly, but I had other thimga in mind, and I w-ent into the next room, whieh tiirncil out to the library. As I threw iny Ught around this room, I saw o'n the table in the cent er a magazine open and lying ïace downward. I p-icked tip this magazine and turned my bull's-eye on It, anti saw that it was open at the begining oí a story. Thetitle cauglit my eye, and I stoort there a moment ■vitli Ihe magazine in cm e hand and the bull's-eye i'n the other, and read a few lines. It seerned to be a mighty Interesting story. AYhoever had been i-eading the mag liad sa1 ta a big leatiier ehair, whlch still remataetl alongside the table. I gat down to tbi-3 big ehair, í the bull's4ye on the bable at my el'it would strike the pages, ;:nd bogan to read, and carne so fcnterested Ii.it I íorgot that I was there on business. 'I don't knovr h-ow long I had been readiag, maybe twenty minutes or so, wUen I ïelt a liand on my right shöulder, I looked up and saw staodiaig alongside oí me a tall man in a dressing g-own. He liad a lamp iu bis riglit hand ; he had tonched me with liis left, and tlie hand still remained on my shoulder. He looked Cown upon me coo.ly. I confesé that as íar as I am coneorned, I was surpri-cd, and wlien he asked me what I Was doding there, I waa at first actually too Uabbergasted to reply, but I iiiially 'told liim I was reading a storj' in that magazine. He asked me what story I was readimg, and I told him. I thought 1 saw jast the fatotest flteker oí a smlle on hls face at that, but I couldn't be certam alxjut it. ' 'What do you think of it V' says he. ■I liad come back to myselï by thls time, and I to-ld Mm I thought he craght to be able to see what I tlwuglit of it himself ; that I was intcre.sted in it enous'ii tó let him come tknvii and find me there reading it, but I woulclii't undertake to say Avhat I thouglit about it absolutely until I had fiuislied reading it. " 'Well,' said the man, 'dou't let me inten-upt you. Go ahead and iiniBh it.' ■'He was looking períectly calm and cool, just as he liad been when I tost looked up at liira. He sat his lamp down on the table by the bull's-eye amd pulled up a big ehair for liim&elt on tlie other side, and got another chadr to put his feet on ; he had only slippers on, and I suppose he thought hls feet would be cold on the floor. He sat down in the big ctoair, put liis ieet up om the other, and pulled his dressing gowu up around his lege, making himself quite eomtorfcaWe. Then he pleked up a liook off the table and went to readisig, Whá'te he waite.l Í;;- met to finish the story. AVhen I liad l'inished it lIic man said : ■ -Vt'ell, vh;it dn you thlnk oï it now ?' "And I t old him. and that'S what I did rhink abomt it, that I thought it was immense. ■■The man laild down nis book and got up on nis ïeet again. He picked up i lamp and stoöd there for a moment holdiing it and looking Kt me. He said nothing, but it was perteetly clear to me that he wasabout politely to bow me out of the house. I laid down the magazine and picked my bull's-eye and moved toward the just as I might have done lf I were a guest. The tall man opened the door and calinly bowed me out. As I -went down the steps I heard hinn boltdng the door after me. "You know I -vondered who he coulil be, but when I carne to i'üid out, I -wondered that I had not thought of it myself be'fore ; he was the man wlio wrote the story."-