FAST PEEPING TOM

"There's that noise again, Daddy," she said, opening her eyes wide, "I've been hearing it for weeks now, and it scares me."

I knew there was a storm coming up and went to the window. I could see the tall cedar trees bending in the wind, their long branches scraping across the tin roof.

"It's just the wind blowing the trees, honey," I said to ease her mind. "I'll get up there tomorrow and cut those branches back for you."

But I knew the noise was not from tree branches. Something or someone was stepping on the roof. I've walked across our old tin roof many times when cleaning the gutters, and I knew that sound.

"Now don't worry and try to get a good night's sleep -see you in the morning sweetheart," I said. "Goodnight Daddy" she smiled.

Once downstairs, I slipped out the side door and waited a moment to let my eyes adjust to the dark. Now moving as quietly as I could, I gradually made my way around the back of the house, until I got to the edge of the porch. I looked up to my daughter's window, and I saw him.

"Oh No, " I whispered under my breath, "There IS someone there!"

Standing just to the side of her window and looking through the partially opened wooden shutters, was the dark shadow of a man. She said she had been hearing sounds outside her window for weeks.....and he had been there, watching her, invading her privacy.

"HEY YOU !" I shouted.

Without so much as a glance in my direction, he ran to the edge of the roof and jumped into the darkness. It was a low roof, and I heard him hit the ground with a thud. As I rounded the corner of the porch, I wished that I had a weapon of some kind.

I saw him running across our patio towards the fence and I took off after him. Almost to the fence, I suddenly stepped through the open legs of a patio chair and fell, face first and hit the ground.

Momentarily dazed and cursing, I tossed the chair aside and with a bleeding mouth, jumped over the fence. He was now about 50 yards away, and increasing his lead with every step.

Leaving my neighbor's yard, he ran under the streetlight and looked over his shoulder in my direction. I then saw that he was only a frightened teenager and he was running hard. As I reached the street, he was nearly a block away and running easily.

I stopped chasing him at that point, and completely winded and gasping, I turned and began making my way back up the hill to our house, my heart pounding. My wife and daughter were standing on the front porch by now and called to me.

"Mike, What is it? What's wrong?" shouted my wife.

"Daddy!, Are you all right?" my daughter called.

"I'm O.K. - I almost caught him and I think I know who it was" I said, still out of breath.

It's probably a good thing he was so fast or I would probably have spent the rest of the night in jail. But the street light would be his undoing - I knew what he looked like now and could easily identify him.

I also learned another of life's lessons that night...scared runs a lot faster than mad.