Only an Irish Boy; Or, Andy Burke's Fortunes Read online

  CHAPTER VIIITHE MIDNIGHT ALARM

  "It's time for me to be goin' back," said Andy, as the clock indicatedtwenty minutes to nine.

  "I wish you could sleep at home, Andy," said his mother.

  "They want me to purtect them," said our hero, with a littleimportance. "I'll pack my clothes in a handkerchief."

  "I've got a little carpetbag," said his mother. "That looks morerespectable. When you have earned enough money, you must have a newsuit of clothes."

  "How much will they cost, mother?"

  "I think we can get a cheap suit for fifteen or twenty dollars. Whenyou have got the money, we will call on the tailor and see."

  "Shure, I'll feel like a gentleman with a suit like that."

  "Mary, go and get the carpetbag. I've packed Andy's clothes all readyfor him."

  Mary soon reappeared with the carpetbag, and Andy set out on hisreturn.

  Presently, as the clock struck nine, he knocked at the door of theMisses Grant. The elder opened the door for him.

  "You are punctual, Andrew," she said, approvingly.

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Are those your clothes?" pointing to the bag he carried.

  "What few I've got, ma'am. I'm goin' to buy some more when I've gotmoney enough."

  "That is right. We want you to look respectable."

  "Just so," remarked Sophia, who felt that it was time for her tospeak.

  Then a brilliant idea seized her.

  "If he was a girl, we could give him some of our dresses."

  "But he isn't," said matter-of-fact Priscilla.

  "Or if we were men," continued Sophia, with another brilliant idea.

  "But we are not."

  "Just so," assented her sister, now brought to the end of hersuggestions.

  By this time Andy was in the house, holding his cap in one hand, andhis carpetbag in the other.

  "Do you feel tired?" asked Priscilla.

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Then, perhaps you would like to go to bed?"

  "I would, if it's just the same to you, ma'am."

  "Very well, follow me, and I will show you your room. Sophia, perhapsyou had better come, too."

  They went up the front stairs. The house proper had two rooms on thelower floor, and the two chambers over them. But there was, besides,an extension behind, used as a kitchen, and over this was the roomwhich had been used by John, the former servant.

  "This is your room, Andrew," said Miss Priscilla. "Sophia, will youlift the latch?"

  The door being opened, revealed a small chamber, with the ceilingpartly sloping. There were two windows. It was very plainly furnished,but looked very comfortable. Andy glanced about him with a look ofsatisfaction. It was considerably more attractive than the bed in theattic which he had occupied at the house of the farmer for whom he hadlast worked.

  "We've put the feather bed at the bottom, as it's summer," said MissPriscilla.

  "All right, ma'am."

  "There's one thing you've forgotten, Priscilla," suggested Sophia.

  "What is that?"

  "The gun."

  "Oh, yes. I am glad you reminded me of it. Andrew, can you fire off agun?"

  "Yes, ma'am," said Andrew, glibly.

  He had never done it, but he had seen a gun fired, and always wantedto make a trial himself.

  "As you are the only menfolks in the house, we should expect you tofire at any robbers that tried to enter the house."

  "Do you expect any, ma'am?" asked Andy, eagerly.

  "No; but some might come. Of course, we cannot fire guns--it would beimproper, as we are ladies."

  "Just so," interrupted Sophia.

  "So we shall leave that to you. Do you think you would dare to?"

  "Would I dare, is it?" asked Andy. "Shure, I'd be glad of the chance."

  "I see you are brave. I'll show you the gun now."

  She went to the closet in the corner of the room, and pointed out abig, unwieldy musket to Andy. It was in the corner.

  "Is it loaded, ma'am?" he asked.

  "Yes; it has been loaded for a year or more. John never had occasionto use it, and I hope you won't. If any robber should come," added thekind-hearted spinster, "perhaps you had better only shoot him in thearm, and not kill him."

  "Just as you say, ma'am."

  "I believe that is all I have to say. Sophia, shall we go to our ownroom?"

  "Just so."

  So the two maidens withdrew, and Andy was left to his own reflections.He undressed himself quickly, and deposited himself in the bed, whichproved to be very comfortable.

  He went to bed, but there was one thing that prevented his going tosleep. This was the gun. He had never even had one in his hand, andnow there was one at his absolute disposal. It made him feel a senseof his importance to feel that, upon him, young as he was, devolvedthe duty of defending the house and its occupants from burglary.

  "And why not? Shure, I'm 'most a man," reflected Andy. "I can shootoff a gun as well as anybody. I wonder will robbers come to-night!"thought Andy.

  He rather wished they would, so that he might have an excuse forfiring the gun. However, of this there seemed very little chance, forhad not Miss Priscilla said that it had been loaded for more than ayear, and during all that time John had never had occasion to use it?This seemed rather discouraging.

  "I wonder would they let me go out gunning with it?" thought Andy.

  Somehow or other, he could not get his mind off the gun, and, after alapse of an hour, he was as wide awake as ever.

  Meanwhile, Priscilla and Sophia were both asleep, not being interestedin the gun.

  Finally it occurred to Andy that he would get up and look at the gun.He wanted to make sure that he understood how to fire it. It wasimportant that he should do so, he reasoned to himself, for might nota burglar come that very night? Then, suppose he was unable to firethe gun, and in consequence of his ignorance, both he and the twoladies should be murdered in their beds. Of course, this was not to bethought of, so Andy got out of bed, and, finding a match, lit thecandle and put it on the bureau, or chest of drawers, as they calledit in the country.

  Then he stepped softly to the closet and took out the gun.

  "Murder! how heavy it is!" thought Andy. "I didn't think it was halfas heavy. There must be a pound of bullets inside. Now," he said tohimself, "suppose a big thafe was to poke his dirty head in at thewinder and say, 'Give me all your money, or I'll break your head'--I'dput up with the gun and point at him this way."

  Here Andy brought the gun into position with some difficulty and puthis finger near the trigger.

  "And I'd say," continued Andy, rehearsing his part, "'Jump down, youthafe, or I'll put a bullet through your head.'"

  At that unlucky moment his finger accidentally pulled the trigger, andinstantly there was a tremendous report, the noise being increased bythe shattering of the window panes by the bullet.

  Probably the charge was too heavy, for the gun "kicked," and Andy, tohis astonishment, found himself lying flat on his back on the floor,with the gun lying beside him.

  "Oh, murder!" ejaculated the bewildered boy, "is it dead I am? Shure,the divil's in the gun. What will the ould wimmen say? They'll thinkit's bloody burglars gettin' into the house. Shure, I'll slip on mypants, for they'll be coming to see what's happened."

  He picked himself up, and slipped on his pants. He had scarcely gotthem on when the trembling voice of Miss Priscilla was heard at thedoor.