To Cry Out "Who's There?" And To Fire A Shot Was The Work Of An Instant,
And Jumping After Him In Pursuit I Found Myself In Darkness, And No One
Visible Outside My House.
Where was the sentry?
Nowhere!
At the cry of "Guard!" not a soul appeared; the sentry was not to be
found. At length, after a search, he turned up in the wrong place,
looking confused, and confessed that he had been asleep, but awakened by
the sound of a shot. By this time a number of non-commissioned officers
had arrived, who had been alarmed by the pistol-shot and the cry of
"Guard!" The sentry was put under arrest. A search was made everywhere,
but no trace of the thief could be found. On making an examination of
the premises, we found a dirty shirt that the thief had in his hurry
left behind him; this was evidently intended to receive the spoil in
lieu of a bag. I could not find the trace of a bullet-mark either upon
the planks or upon the Venetian blinds, therefore, I considered that the
thief must have been hit, or if missed, the ball must have passed out as
he pushed the blinds aside when in the act of springing through.
I suspected the sentry, who was an Egyptian belonging to the "Forty
Thieves." He was stripped and examined, but there was no wound. All the
shirts were alike, therefore the shirt in my possession was no clue.
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