Standing at the sideboard , hastily ransacking the neat contents of an open drawer , stood a man 's figure , dimly visible in the moonlight gloom . As Miss Calista 's grim form appeared in the doorway , the midnight marauder turned with a start and then , with an inarticulate cry , sprang , not at the courageous lady , but at the open window behind him . Miss Calista , realizing with a flash of comprehension that he was escaping her , had a woman-like impulse to get a blow in anyhow ; she grasped and hurled at her unceremonious caller the first thing that came to hand -- a bottle of peppermint essence that was standing on the sideboard . The missile hit the escaping thief squarely on the shoulder as he sprang out of the window , and the fragments of glass came clattering down on the sill . The next moment Miss Calista found herself alone , standing by the sideboard in a half-dazed fashion , for the whole thing had passed with such lightning-like rapidity that it almost seemed as if it were the dissolving end of a bad dream . But the open drawer and the window , where the bits of glass were glistening in the moonlight , were no dream . Miss Calista recovered herself speedily , closed the window , lit the lamp , gathered up the broken glass , and set up the chairs which the would-be thief had upset in his exit . An examination of the sideboard showed the precious five hundred safe and sound in an undisturbed drawer . Miss Calista kept grim watch and ward there until morning , and thought the matter over exhaustively . In the end she resolved to keep her own counsel . She had no clue whatever to the thief 's whereabouts or identity , and no good would come of making a fuss , which might only end in throwing suspicion on someone who might be quite innocent . When the morning came Miss Calista lost no time in setting out for Kerrytown , where the money was soon safely deposited in the bank . She heaved a sigh of relief when she left the building . I feel as if I could enjoy life once more , she said to herself . Goodness me , if I 'd had to keep that money by me for a week itself , I 'd have been a raving lunatic by the end of it . Miss Calista had shopping to do and friends to visit in town , so that the dull autumn day was well nigh spent when she finally got back to Cooperstown and paused at the corner store to get a bundle of matches . The store was full of men , smoking and chatting around the fire , and Miss Calista , whose pet abomination was tobacco smoke , was not at all minded to wait any longer than she could help . But Abiram Fell was attending to a previous customer , and Miss Calista sat grimly down by the counter to wait her turn . The door opened , letting in a swirl of raw November evening wind and Ches Maybin . He nodded sullenly to Mr. Fell and passed down the store to mutter a message to a man at the further end .
Miss Calista lifted her head XXXXX he passed and sniffed the air as a charger who scents battle .
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