er and gently
pulled his mother by her hand, which was hanging down outside the bed.

"What is it? What's the matter?" suddenly asked Mrs. Martin. In another
instant she had pulled the cord attached to an electric light over her
bed, and the room was bright in a moment. Then Mr. Martin awakened, and
both parents looked at the little Curlytop boy.

"What's the matter, Ted? Walking in your sleep?" asked his father. For
sometimes Teddy did do that.

In answer the little fellow put his finger to his lips to make his father
and mother understand that he wanted them to keep quiet.

"It's burglars--two of 'em!" whispered Teddy. "One is named Bill, but I
don't know the other one's name. They've come to get Mr. Nip."

"What's that--our parrot? Nonsense!" exclaimed Mr. Martin. "You have been
dreaming, Teddy, my boy. Go back to bed."

But just then, from down in the kitchen, came the voice of the parrot
shrieking:

"I'm a crack-crack-cracker! Police, Fire! Burglars!"

Then came a banging, clashing sound, and a man's voice cried:

"There! See if that will keep you quiet!"

An instant later there was a sound as if the parrot's cage had been
knocked over, or had tumbled over, and Mr. Nip cried:

"Help! Help! Help!"

Out of bed jumped Mr. Martin, going toward the closet where he kept his
revolver.

"It is burglars!" he whispered.

"Oh, you mustn't go down! They might shoot you! Go to the window and call
the police!" begged Mrs. Martin, clinging to her husband.

Mr. Martin did both. He went to the window and fired a shot from his
revolver up into the air. My! what a loud noise it made, and it set
Skyrocket and Top to barking out in the barn. Perhaps the monkey
chattered also, but he could not be heard. However, Mr. Nip's shrill
shrieking seemed to resound all over the neighborhood.

There was a moon, and as he looked from his bedroom window Mr. Martin, by
its light, saw two men running out of the side gate.

"There go the burglars!" he cried, and again he fired a shot. This made
the strange men run all the faster, and by this time Trouble had
awakened and was crying.

"Janet, you come in and stay with Trouble," called Mrs. Martin "I'll get
dressed, and then, when the police come, we must see what the burglars
have taken! Oh, what a dreadful night! I hope they haven't stolen much!"

"And I hope they didn't take Mr. Nip," echoed Teddy.

"I don't believe they carried away much of anything," Mr. Martin
remarked, as