"If the job is done quietly," said one, "we can get all the silver without
waking the family." I then understood the expression, "It takes a thief to
catch a thief," for after the milk and corned beef episodes I felt like a
branded criminal. They started out to do their dishonest work and I
followed, my velvet paws making no noise. They were so intent with
watching out for policemen that they did not notice me and when they
looked back I dodged behind trees or posts. I soon found that we were
getting into a very refined neighborhood, for it had a wide street with a
park between the sidewalks.

The men did not walk on the main street but resorted to the alley in the
rear of the block. They finally stopped and looking up and down,
cautiously unfastened the gate with a few twists, for it had been locked.
They were now inside of an enclosure, surrounded by a high fence, and
where the light did not shine upon this house as on some of the others. I
sneaked in when the gate was opened and following in the darkness found
myself under the coping watching one lift the other so that he could reach
in and unlock a window. Slowly and quietly he raised the sash and stepped
in while the man below watched, ready to give the alarm if anybody should
come along. I immediately followed the burglar into the house.

Here indeed was a new experience, thought I, as I hid under the
dining-room table and watched. My mind acted quickly and I decided to take
a chance, run upstairs and give the alarm. Dodging out of the dining-room,
I ran into the hall and swiftly up a long stairway and found the master
And mistress sound asleep in a large room. I went up to the bed, gave the
Bed clothes a quick tug, uttered a low cry and stepped back out of sight.
The master jumped up exclaiming, "What was that?" At the same time he
touched a button on the wall and flooded the house with light. He listened
intently and hearing a noise downstairs rushed down. I followed in time to