Burglars In Paradise Author:Elizabeth Stuart Phelps General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1886 Original Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin and Co. Subjects: Fiction / Literary Fiction / Romance / General Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of... more » this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: II. THE SCARE. " Ptjelvir," said her mistress, that evening, when the two women prepared to face the first night alone, in a neighborhood known to be haunted by house-breakers, -- " Puelvir, is Zero as deaf as he used to be ? " " Deefer," said Puelvir, laconically. " Then I really don't think he would help us any; do you ? We must make up our minds to protect ourselves. I think we can ; don't you, Puelvir ? " " I 've nailed the ironin' - board and the step-ladder and the big soap-stone and two flat-irons agen the shed window. I 'd like to see 'em get in there." " That's an excellent plan, Puelvir. I 've been thinking it over. My idea was that we must really lock up. I 've never paidmuch attention to the subject. We will make a point of it. I think we 'd better begin early." " I bet I know what they took the hatchet for, Miss Corona. I Ve been thiukin' about it." " And what was it for, Puelvir ? " " To carve Tommy's rooster with ; that 's what they wanted of it. Depend on 't, they took your carvin'-knife first; 'n when they found what they 'd got in that knife -- let alon' the rooster -- they come back for the hatchet." " Yes," replied Corona, pensively. " Mr. Tom and Mr. Sinuous used to say it was a little dull." Corona referred to the only gentlemen guests whom the Old Maid's Paradise had yet known. Tom was her brother, and Mr. Sinuous may be recalled as the young man from Mt. Desert, who had played the Serpent in this feminine Eden, and removed a preferred friend from Corona's hearth-sto...« less