Creative Books

Biddy, who
slept in the attic, practised getting out on the shed roof, so that she
might run away at the first alarm. Every night we arranged pit-falls
for the robbers, and all filed up to bed, bearing plate, money,
weapons, and things to barricade with, as if we lived in war times.
"We waited a week and no one came, so we began to feel rather
slighted, for other people got 'a scare,' as Tom says, and after all
our preparations we really felt a trifle disappointed that we had had
no chance to show our courage. At last a black mark was found
upon our door, and a great panic ensued, for we felt that now our
time had come.
"That night we put a tub of water at the bottom of the back-stairs,
and a pile of tin pans at the top of the front stairs, so that any
attempt to come up would produce a splash or a rattle. Bells were
hung on door handles, sticks of wood piled up in dark corners for
robbers to fall over, and the family retired, all armed and all
provided with lamps and matches.


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