THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.
Fanny--as we shall call her when she is not in the company of her
namesake--revelled in the possession of the key, and congratulated
herself on her own shrewdness in obtaining it. She applied it to one of
the drawers of the desk. Though her devoted young mistress had been
faithful to the last degree in her efforts to instil good principles in
the mind of her pupil, Fanny appeared to have no scruples of
conscience. She did not hesitate, did not pause to consider the
wickedness of her acts.
The drawer was unlocked and opened with an eager rather than a
trembling hand. She seemed to fear nothing, and to be intent only on
obtaining possession of some coveted treasure. As she pulled out the
drawer, she was startled by a very unexpected incident. A great black
cat, suddenly released from imprisonment, sprang out of the drawer,
and, terrified by the appearance of the naughty girl, ran around the
room several times, and then disappeared through an open window. The
cat was a stranger to her; it was not a Woodville cat; and, though
Fanny was not frightened, the presence of the animal in the drawer was
suggestive.
"I am not so sharp as I thought I was," said she to herself, quite
soberly. "The housekeeper must have seen me when I was looking for that
key; but she needn't think I am afraid of a cat!"
Fanny sneered at the thought, and after glancing at the window through
which the cat had made her escape, she turned to the drawer again, but
it was empty; or it contained only a great card, such as those used in
the Sunday school, on which was painted, in large black letters,
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL!
This card, which must have been placed there for her especial benefit
by some member of the family, rendered it certain that her intentions
were suspected, if not known.
"That's a gentle hint not to take anything from that drawer," said
Fanny to herself. "There is nothing there, and of course I must take
the hint; but they can't cheat me. There is money somewhere in this
desk, and I must have it."
Perhaps, under ordinary circumstances, she would have been moved by the
expedient which had been used to deter her from stealing. The
commandment of God, staring her in the face at the very moment when she
expected to place her hand upon the forbidden treasure, might have
reached her conscience if she had not been engaged in a deeply-laid
plan for revelling in stolen joys. As it was, she was only disappointed
at not finding the money which the drawer had been supposed to contain.
"Fanny Jane!" called Mrs. Green, the housekeeper, from the entry.
It was not prudent to be seen in the library, and, hastily closing the
drawer, and restoring the key to the nail under the desk, she stepped
out at one of the long windows upon the piazza.
"Fanny Jane!" repeated the housekeeper.
"Here I am," said the guilty girl, entering the front door.
"It is time for you to get ready for school," added Mrs. Green.
"I'm not going to school to-day."
"Not going to school? Why not, miss?"
"Because I don't want to go."
"I think you are going," said the housekeeper, firmly.
"And I think I am not going!"
"Very well; then I will send for Mr. Long," added Mrs. Green, with a
coolness and decision which were not without their effect upon the
stubborn girl.
Mr. Long was a constable, and outside of his official duties, he was
often employed in various miscellaneous offices by Mr. Grant. He lived
in a small cottage adjoining the Woodville estate. This man was a great
bugbear to Fanny, who had a very proper and wholesome regard for the
strong arm of the law.
"I don't care for Mr. Long," said Fanny, shaking her shoulders in
defiance; but this was only a vain boast.
Mrs. Green rang a bell for the man-servant who was employed in the
house. This was more than the naughty girl could endure, for she knew
that Mrs. Green would do all she promised.
"You needn't send for Mr. Long," interposed Fanny, doggedly. "I'll go
to school."
"I thought you would; but you may do as you please."
"I'll go, but I want fifteen cents to buy a new copy-book."
As Mrs. Green knew that Fanny needed a new copy-book, she did not
object to this request, and went into the library to procure the money.
Instead of going up stairs to prepare herself for school, as the
housekeeper had told her to do, Fanny went out upon the piazza again,
and looking through the window, saw Mrs. Green open a closet in the
library, and, from a drawer there, take out the money she had asked
for. The housekeeper locked the drawer and the closet door, placing the
key of the latter in a vase on the mantel-piece, and the key of the
drawer under one of a row of volumes on a book shelf. All these
precautions had been rendered necessary by the presence of the
dishonest girl in the house.
Fanny, having carefully observed where the keys were placed, ran up
stairs, and presently appeared, dressed for school. Mrs. Green gave her
the money for which she had asked, and having satisfied herself that
the refractory girl had actually departed for school, she went up
stairs to attend to her usual duties. Fanny went as far as the road,
and then, instead of turning to the left, she went to the right, and
keeping in the shadow of the trees, reached the rear of the mansion.
From this point she crept round to the piazza, from which she passed
into the library.
"She can't cheat me!" said Fanny, again congratulating herself upon her
own cunning. "She'll find, before night, that I'm too much for her."
The wicked girl then went to the vase, and taking from it the key,
opened the closet. From the place where she had stood, she could not
determine exactly under which book the key of the drawer had been
placed; but after raising half a dozen of them, she found the object of
her search. The drawer was opened, and on the top of several bundles of
papers lay a pocket-book. Her eyes snapped with unwonted fire as she
discovered the prize.
She opened it, and found a great roll of bills; in one of the pockets
there was a mass of currency. There was no great staring placard, with
"Thou shalt not steal" printed upon it, but the words seemed to be
spoken from her own breast--seemed to be thundering in her soul. But
Fanny was excited by the prospect of the stolen joys, in which she had
been revelling in anticipation for a fortnight, and she heeded not the
voice from her breast, and silenced the thunder-tones that rolled
through her soul.
"Shall I take it all?" whispered she, as she gazed on the great pile of
"greenbacks and currency." "I may as well be hung for an old sheep as a
lamb," she added, as she gathered up the money, and thrust it into her
pocket.
A noise in the entry startled her. She closed the drawer, locked it,
and restored the key to the place where she had found it. The closet
door was secured in like manner, and the key returned to the vase.
Passing out of the library as she had entered, she made her way back to
the road, and walked towards the school-house. Before she reached it,
however, she turned down a lane leading to the river. It was a lonely
avenue, completely shaded by trees, which concealed her from the view
of the people in the adjoining houses. Increasing her pace to a
bounding run, she soon reached the Hudson.
Seated on a stone, near the river, was a girl of fourteen, who had
evidently been waiting for Fanny. In her hand she held a couple of
books, which indicated that she also had been sent to school.
"Where have you been? Why didn't you come before?" asked the girl, as
she rose at Fanny's approach.
"I couldn't come before," replied Fanny.
"Why not?" demanded the other, whose name was Kate Magner.
"No matter why not," answered Fanny, rather testily, for she was not
yet quite willing to confess what she had done in the library of the
mansion-house.
"Haven't the folks gone away?"
"Yes; they all went off in the morning train. Where is Tom?"
"I don't know."
"But we want him; we can't get along without him."
"He said he would come."
"But he is late."
"So are you."
"I couldn't help it."
"I suppose he can't, either. But what are we going to do, Fan?" asked
Kate, who did not seem to be satisfied with the present prospect of the
enterprise, whatever it was.
"We are going to have a good time."
"You said that before; but I want to know what we are going to do. You
asked me to meet you here at half past eight. You come at nine, and I
don't see that anything is to be done. I shall catch it for playing
truant from school, and all for nothing."
"You shall have the best time you have had in your life."
"I don't know about that. Why don't you tell me what you mean to do?"
"I am almost afraid to tell you, Kate."
"Afraid of what?"
"I'm afraid you won't dare to go with me."
"Did you ever do anything I was afraid to do?" said Kate, with a sneer.
"But this is a greater thing than we ever did before. We may be gone a
long time, and we are certain to be found out."
"What do you mean?" demanded Kate, apparently appalled by this frank
statement of the difficulties of the enterprise.
"I thought it would scare you," laughed Fanny.
"But it don't scare me."
"Yes, it does."
"I will do anything that you dare to do," replied Kate, stung by the
flings of her companion.
"You shall have the greatest time that ever was, but you must take the
consequences after it is all over."
"If you can, I can."
"Come with me, then," continued Fanny, as she moved along the bank of
the river towards the Woodville landing pier.
"I won't go a step till I know what you are going to do."
"I'm afraid you will back out."
"No, I won't; I solemnly promise you that I will go with you anywhere
you please."
"I have got some money," added Fanny, in a very mysterious manner.
"How much?"
"Two dollars."
"Pooh! that ain't much!" sneered Kate.
"Well, I've got five dollars."
"Have you?"
"Yes."
"Where did you get it?"
"I found it."
"Where?"
"On the floor."
Kate probably had her doubts in regard to the finding of the money, but
she did not ask any troublesome questions, and repressed whatever of
righteous indignation might have risen in her soul.
"What are you going to do with it?" she asked.
"We will have a good time with it."
"But where are you going?"
Fanny glanced at her companion, and hesitated to reveal the brilliant
project, fearful that it might be disapproved.
"We will go over to Whitestone, or down to Pennville, and buy
something. But where is Tom? We must have him."
"What do you want of him?" asked Kate, rather petulantly.
"We must go over in a boat, and we want him to manage it for us."
"Perhaps he will come; he promised to do so."
"We will go up to the landing-place; perhaps he is up there."
The two girls walked up to the Woodville pier; but Tom Magner was not
there. He seemed to have no relish for the society of the interesting
young ladies engaged in a brilliant enterprise; and if he had made any
appointment to meet them, he neglected to keep it. Fanny was very much
disappointed at his non-appearance, much more so than the young
gentleman's sister, who, not knowing the extent of the enterprise, was
in blissful ignorance of its perils and difficulties. Tom Magner was an
almost indispensable part of the plan; but the young knight did not
come, and the project must be abandoned or carried out without him.
"I am afraid he won't come," said Fanny, after impatiently waiting for
half an hour.
"I know he won't now. I don't believe he intended to come at all,"
replied Kate.
"He is a mean fellow, then."
"We can get along without him. We shall have more money to spend
ourselves."
"But how shall we get over to Whitestone?"
"We can go up the river and take the ferry."
"Yes; and the first person we meet may be your father, or some of the
Woodville folks. No, Kate, we must not be seen; if we are, all our fun
will be spoiled."
"For my part I don't want Tom, or any other boy with us. I think boys
are hateful!"
"So do I; but I only want him to manage the boat. Don't you think you
could go up and find Tom?"
"I don't think I could," said Kate, indignantly.
"Where is he?"
"At school, I suppose."
"Couldn't you tell the teacher that your father wants him?" suggested
Fanny.
"No, I could not! I should be caught myself. I believe you want to get
me into trouble."
"I'm sure I don't, Kate, for that would get me into trouble. What shall
we do?"
"We will go up to the ferry. We can see who is in the boat before we go
on board."
"I won't do that if we don't go at all."
And so the brilliant scheme seemed to be defeated for the want of a
boatman; but Fanny was too bold and enterprising in mischief to give up
without a struggle.