BEN'S MIDNIGHT EXCURSION.
When Jack Carter went downstairs it was his intention to wait from
half an hour to an hour, and then to make another visit to his
lodgers. This would allow time for Ben to fall asleep, and, although
Jack would have had no difficulty in overcoming his resistance, he
preferred to commit the robbery when both the travelers were in a
state of unconsciousness.
But he overestimated his ability to keep awake. Usually he was a
sound sleeper, and during the day preceding he had taken a long walk
across the mountains. The natural result followed. While he was
waiting for Ben to fall asleep, he fell asleep himself. Ben was not
long in ascertaining this welcome fact. A series of noises, not very
musical, announced that Jack was asleep. He had a confirmed habit of
snoring, to which, fortunately, his wife had become accustomed, so
that it did not disturb her rest.
Ben crept near the edge of the loft and looked over. The bed on
which his amiable host reposed was in full view. Both husband and
wife were fast asleep, and their sleep was likely to be protracted.
Under this change of circumstances, what was Ben to do?
This was the question which he anxiously asked himself.
Now there would be no difficulty in escaping, if he saw fit. But
here there was a difficulty. Jake could not be roused, and, if he
could, it would not be very agreeable to lose a night's sleep, for
Ben, as well as his host, felt very sleepy. Yet if he allowed
himself to remain in the loft, the danger of robbery would recur in
the morning, for Jack would be sure to wake earlier than Bradley,
who had been drugged, as Ben was convinced.
Sometimes, in the midst of perplexity, a way of relief is suddenly
opened. A lucky suggestion, sent, perhaps, by an overruling
Providence, provides a path of escape from some menacing evil. This
happened in the present instance.
"Why," thought Ben, "can't I take our money, steal downstairs and
out of the cabin, and hide it in some secure place where we can find
it in the morning? Then I can sleep in security for the remainder of
the night, and my thievish friend will be disappointed."
No sooner did the idea occur to Ben than he prepared to carry it
out.
As has already been said, Bradley had about a hundred dollars in
gold pieces, and Ben as much more. This would have made a very good
haul for Jack, who did not anticipate obtaining so much. It was more
than our young hero felt willing to lose, and he was prepared to run
a large risk in the effort to save it.
The risk, of course, was that he might wake Jack or his wife in
coming downstairs. There would be no difficulty in opening the door,
for it was not fastened in any way. As to the danger of rousing his
entertainers, Ben was not much afraid of waking Jack, for he was
evidently in a sound sleep. His wife was more likely to be
disturbed, and, in that case, Ben was provided with an excuse. He
would say that he was thirsty, and in search of some water, which
would have been true enough, though this was not the main object of
his expedition.
Ben had not taken off his shoes and stockings, and began to descend
the ladder with his shoes on, but it occurred to him that his steps
might be audible, and he quietly removed both shoes and stockings.
He had previously taken Bradley's money, with the exception of a few
dollars, without in the least arousing his sleepy comrade, who, in
consequence of the potion he had unsuspiciously taken, was still
wrapped in unconscious slumber.
"Now," thought Ben, "I must do my work as quickly as I can."
He was not insensible to the risk he ran, and it was not without a
thrill of excitement that he set foot on the floor of the cabin, and
looked at the sleeping faces of Jack Carter and his wife. But there
was no time to waste. He stepped softly to the door and opened it.
Just then the woman stirred in her sleep, and uttered something
unintelligible. Ben was alarmed lest she were about to wake up, and
stood stock-still, with his fingers on the latch. But there was no
further sound. The woman partially turned over, and soon her quiet,
regular breathing notified Ben that sleep had resumed its power over
her. Probably she had stirred in consequence of some uneasy dream.
With a deep breath of relief, Ben opened the door, passed out, and
closed it softly after him.
He was out of the house, and in the freedom of the woods. Before
morning he might have put fifteen miles between him and the cabin of
his foes. He would have felt disposed to do so, and avoid all
further trouble, if Bradley had been with him, and in condition to
travel. As this was not to be thought of, he proceeded to search for
a suitable place to secrete his troublesome treasure.
The cabin stood in a valley, or canon, in the shadow of gigantic
pine-trees, rising straight as a flagpole to the altitude of nearly
two hundred feet. They were forest giants, impressive in their lofty
stature, and Ben regarded them with wonder and awe. They were much
smaller in every way than the so-called big trees to be found in the
Calaveras and Mariposa groves; but these had not at that time been
discovered, and the pines were the largest trees our hero had ever
encountered.
Ben looked about him in vain to find a suitable hiding-place in the
immediate neighborhood of the cabin. If there had been a large flat
rock under which he could have placed the gold pieces, that would
have suited him; but there was absolutely nothing of the kind in
sight.
So Ben wandered away, hardly knowing whither his steps were carrying
him, till he must have been at least a quarter of a mile distant
from the cabin.
Here his attention was attracted by a tree of larger circumference
than any he had seen nearer, which showed the ravages of time. The
bark was partly worn away, and, approaching nearer, Ben saw that it
had begun to decay from within. There was an aperture about a foot
above the ground through which he could readily thrust his hand.
"That's the very thing!" exclaimed Ben, his eyes lighting up with
pleasure. "Nobody would ever think of looking for money there. Here
I can hide our gold, and to-morrow, when we set out on our journey,
we can take this tree on our way."
Ben took from his pockets the gold which belonged to Bradley and
himself, and wrapping them securely in a paper which he happened to
have with him, he thrust the whole into the cavity in the tree.
"There!" said he, "our treasure is much safer there than it would be
in our possession, for to-night, at least."
Ben carefully took the bearings of the tree, that he might not
forget it. There was little difficulty about this, as it was larger
than any of its neighbors, not so tall, perhaps, but of greater
circumference.
"I shall remember it now," he said to himself.
As Ben walked back to the humble cabin he became very drowsy. He was
quite fatigued with his day's march, and it was now nearly or quite
two hours since his companion had fallen asleep.
It was fortunate for him that Ben had been more wakeful.
"I shall be glad enough to sleep now," thought Ben. "I don't know
when I have felt more tired."
He reached the cabin door, and listened outside to learn whether any
one were stirring. He could still hear the sonorous snore of Jack,
and could distinguish the deep breathing of his hostess. All seemed
to be safe.
He softly opened the door, and closed it after him. Without arousing
any one, he made his way up the ladder to the loft, where Bradley
lay precisely as he had left him.
Ben threw himself down beside him with a deep sigh of satisfaction,
and in ten minutes he, too, was sound asleep.