Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 February 1917 — PRUDENCE of the PARSONAGE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PRUDENCE of the PARSONAGE

by ETHEL HUESTON

CHAPTER Vll—Continued. Mr. Starr had gone to Burlington that morning to attend special revival «3rvires for three days, and Prudence had fifty whole dollars in the house, an unwonted sum in that parsonage! And the dungeon was not locked. Without a word, she slipped softly out of the room, ran down the stairs, making never a sound in her bare feet, and saw, somewhat to her surprise, that the dungeon door was open. Quickly she flung it shut, pushed the tiny key that moved the “catch,” and was rushing up the stairs again with never a pause for breath. * A strange sight met her eyes in the twins’ room. The twins themselves were in each other’s arms, sobbing bitterly. Fairy was still looking hurriedly through the dresser drawers. “They are gone,” wailed Carol, “our beautiful ruby rings that belonged to grandmother.” “Nonsense,” cried Prue with nervous anger, “you’ve left them in the bathroom, or on the kitchen shelves. You’re always leaving them somewhere over the place. Come on. and we’ll search the house just to convince you.” “No, no.” shrieked the twins. “Let’s lock the door and get under the bed.” The rings were really valuable. . q?jjeir grandmother., mother, had divided her “real jewelry” between herjjyo And the mother of 1 hese vided her portion to make it reach through her own family of girls! “Our rings! OUF-t4ugs4”-tlie twins were walling, and Connie, awakened by the noise, was crying beneath the covers of her bed. “Maybe we’d better phone fqr Mr. Allan,” suggested Fairy.' “The girls are so nervous they will be hysterical by the time we finish searching the house.” “Well, let’s do the upstairs then,” said Prudence. “Get your slippers and kimonos, and we'll go into daddy’s room.” —— - —- — _ , . '

But inside the door of daddy’s room., with the younger girls clinging to her. and Fairy looking odd and disturbed. Prudence stopped abruptly and stared about the room curiously. “Fairy, didn’t father leave his watch hanging on that nail by the table? Seems to me I saw it there this morning. I remember thinking I, would tease him for being forgetful.” And the watch was not there; “I think it was Sunday he left It;" answered Fairy in a low v..ice. “I remember seeing it on the nail, and thinking he would need It—but I believe it

was Sunday.” . Prudence looked under the bed, and in the closet, but their father’s room was empty. Should they go farther? For a moment, the girls stood looking at one another questioningly. Then — they heard a loud thud downstairs, as of someone pounding on a door. There was no longer any doubt. Someone •was In the house! Connie and the •twins screamed again and clung to Prudence frantically. And Fairy said, “I think we’d bettei lock the door and stay right here until morning, Prue.” But Prudence faced them stubbornly. **lf you think I’m going to let anyone steal that fifty dollars, you are mistaken. Fifty dollars does not come for thatri cun tell you.” “It's probably stolen already,” ob"Well, If it is, well-itali did It, and have them arrested. I’m going down to telephone to the polices You

girls must lock the door after mei and stay right here.” • . . The little ones screamed again, and Fairy said: “Don’t be silly, Prue, if you go I’m going with you, of course. We’ll leave the kiddles here and'they can lock the door. They'll be perfectly safe in here." ’ . ' * But the children loudly objected to this.. • If, True and Fairy went, they would go! Sri down the stairs they trooped, a timorous trembling crowd. Prudence went at once to the telephone. and called up the residence of the Allans, their neighbors across the street. After a seemingly never-ending wait, the kind-hearted neighbor /left his bed to answer the Jnsistent telephone' Falteringly Prudence explained their predicament; and asked him to come and search tin* house. He promised to be there in five minutes, with lIS son to help. —— “Now,” said Prudence more cheerfully, “we’ll just go out to. the kitchen and* wait. It’s quiet there, and away from the rest of the house, and we’ll

be perfectly safe.” To the kitchen, then, they hurried, and found foal comfort in its smallness and secure-, ness. Prudence raked up the- dying embers of the fire, and Fairy drew the blinds to their lowest limits. The twins and Connie trailed them fearfully at every step. Every breath of wind against the windows drew startled cries from the younger girls, and both Fairy and. Prudence were white with anxiety when they heard the loud voices of the Allans outside the kitchen door. Prurience began crying nervously the moment the two angels of mercy appeared before her,'and Fairy told their tale of woe. “Well, there now.” Mr. Allan said with rough sympathy, “you just got scared, that's all. Everything's suspicious when folks get scared. I told bot you girls would get a good fright sometime, left here alone. Come on, Jim, and we’ll go over the house in a jiffy.” He was standing near the diningroom door. He lifted his head suddenly, and seemed’ to sniff a little. There was undoubtedly a faint odor of tobacco in the house. “Been any men in here tonight?” he asked. “Or this afternoon? Think,

now'." . - - . . “No one,” answered Prudence. “I . w’as alone all afternoon, and there has been no one in this evening.” He passed slowly through the din-ing-room into the hall, closely followed much -reassured. -As he passed the dungeon door he paused for a moment, listening intently, his head bent. “Oh, Mr. Allan,” cried Prudence, “let’s look in the dungeon first. I want to see If the money is safe.” Her hand was already on the lock, but he shoved her away quickly. “Is there any way out of that closet besides this door?” he asked. “No. We call it the dungeon,” laughed Prudence, her self-possession quite recovered. “It is right under the stairs, and not even a mouse could gnaw its way out, with this door shut.” "Who shut the door?” he inquired, still holding Prudence’s hand from the lock. Then, without waiting for an answer, he went on. “Let’s go back in the other room a minute. Come on, all of you.” In the living room he hurried to the telephone, and spoke to the operator in a low voice. “Call the police headquarters, and have them send two or three men to the Methodist parsonage, right away. We’ve got a burglar locked in a closet, and they’ll have to get him out. Please hurry.” At this, the girls crowded around "hi nr agatn tn'"renewed’--^ears-’----' “Don’t be scared,” he said calmly, “we’re all right. He’s in there safe enough _and can’t get out for a while. 'Now, tell me about It. How did you

get him in the closet? Begin at the beginning, and tell me all about it." Carol began the story with keen relish. “I woke up, and thought I heard someone In the room. I supposed it was Prudence. I said, ‘Prudence,’ and nobody, answered, and everything was quiet. But I felt there was someone in there. I nudged Lark, and she woke up Jle moved then, and we both heard him. He was fumbling at the dresser, and are gone. We heard him step across the room and into a’ closet. Ileciosedth#-doxirafter him, didn’t he Lark?” < . ' “Yes, he did ” agreed Lark. “His hand was on the knob.” -

“So we sneaked out of bed. and went into Prudence’s room and woke her and Fairy." She looked at'Connie and blushed. “Connie was asleep, and we didn’t waken her because we didn’t want to frighten her. We woke the girls—and you tell, the rest, Prudence.” “We didn’t believe her, of course. We went back into their room and there was no one there. But the rings were gone. While they were looking at the dresser, I remembered that I forgot to lock the dungeon door, where we keep the money and the silverware, and I ran downstairs and slammed the door and locked It. and went back up. I didn’t hear a sound downstairs.” Mr. Allan laughed heartily. “Well, your burglar was in that closet ‘after the money, no doubt, and he didn’t hear you coming, and got locke<TTn”~~“ •Tn-a—few-minutes they heard foot--steps around the hotise and knew the officers had arrived. Mr. Allan let

them into the house, four of them, and Jed them out to the hall. There could lie no doubt whatever that the burglar was in the dungeon. He had been busy with his knife, and the lock was -nearly removed, —If ■ the officers had been two minutes later, the dungeon would ha ve been empty. The girls were sent upstairs at once, with the Allan boy as guard —as guard, foEthe fact that he was probably more frightened than any one of them. The chief officer rapped briskly on the dungeon door. Then he clicked his revolver.

“There* are enough of us to overpower three of you,” he said curtly. “And w’e have men outside the house, too. If you put your firearms on the floor, and hold both hands over your head, you’ll be well treated. If vour hands are not up, we fire on sight Get your revolvers ready, boys.” Then the officer opened the door. Evidently the burglar was wise enough to appreciate the futility of fighting against odds. His hands were above his head, and ip less than a second he was securely manacled. The chief officer had been eying him closely. “Say!” he exclaimed. “Aren’t you Limber-Limb Grant?” The burglar grinned, but did not answer. “By Jove!” shouted the officer. “It is! Call thp girls down here,” he and when, they appeared, gazing at the burglar with mingled admiration, pity and fear, he congratulated them with —“lt’s —Lluiber-Llmb GihuL" 110 ev plained. “There’s a reward of five •hundred dollars for, him. You’ll get the money, as sure 'as you’re born.” Then he turned again to the burglar. “Say, Grant, what’s a fellow like you doing on such a fifth-rate job as this? A Methodist parsonage is not just in your line, is it?” Limber-Limb laughed sheepishly. “Well,” he explained good-naturedly, ■“Chicago got too hot for me. I had to get out in a hurry, and I couldn’t get my hands on any mohey. I had a fine lot of jewels, but I was so pushed I couldn’t use them. I came here and loafed around town for a while, because folks said Mount Mark'was so fast asleep it did not , even wake up long enough to read the daily papers. I heard about this parsonage bunch, and knew the old man had gone off to get more religion. This afternoon at the station I saw a detective from Chicago get off the train, and I knew what that meant. But I needed some cash, and so 1 wasn’t above a little job of this kind. I never dreamed of getting done up by a bunch of preacher’s kids. I went upstairs to get those family jewels Fve heard about, and One of

the little ones gave ttfe alarm. I already had some of them, so I came down at once. I stopped in the dungeon to get that money, and first thing I knew the door banged shut. That’s all. welcome to the five hundred dollars, ladies. Someone was bound to get it sooner or later, and I’m partial to the ladies, every time.”

(To BE CONTINUED-) ' * -

ITS TRULY AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS NOBODY GOOD AND THIS WIND BRINGS LUCK TO THE PARSONAGE.

Mr. Starr, widower Methodist minister, is assigned to the congregation at Mount Mark, la. He has five charming daughters. Prudence, the eldest, keeps house for him. Fairy Is a college freshmau. Carol and Lark, twins, are in high school. 'Constance Ts“tfiF The activities of the Starr girls—Prudence's work, Fairy's school affairs, the pranks of the youngsters —and the family perplexities make the story; it is simply a recital of glorified homely incidents. This installment describes the capture of a burglar in the parsonage.

Now what do you suppose the girls will do with that five hundred dollars? How much will they devote to church purposes —foreign missions, for instance?

(Copyright, by the Bobbs-Merrill Company.)

Quickly she Flung It Shut.

“Aren’t You Limber-Limb Grant?”