LEON DRAWS HIS MONEY.
Frank was by no means so much at his ease as he appeared to be. He knew
as well as Leon did that they were playing an extremely hazardous game,
and the fear that their plans might be defeated made him so nervous
that he could not keep still to save his life.
He paced restlessly up and down the room, awaiting his cousin's return
with no little impatience.
Leon was gone a long time--so long that Frank began to be alarmed. He
was on the point of going in search of him, when he heard his step on
the stairs.
A moment thereafter the door opened and Leon came in. His face was as
white as a sheet, and his hands trembled as though he had been seized
with an attack of the ague.
"Well?" said Frank.
"I've got it," replied Leon, in a scarcely audible whisper, "and I came
near being caught in the act, too. I had to wait until mother went
into the kitchen; then I slipped into the bedroom, and had just taken
the book out of the drawer when I heard her coming back. I tell you, I
thought I should drop when she asked me what I was doing in there, and
what made my face so pale. Whew!" added Leon, drawing his hand across
his forehead. "It was a close call. I don't know how I shall manage to
get that gun."
"Don't worry over it," answered Frank, who knew that everything
depended upon keeping up his cousin's courage. "We can think about it
when the time comes to secure the gun. If I see a chance, I'll get it
for you myself."
The two boys were now anxious to leave the house with the least
possible delay. They seemed to think that as long as they remained
there they were in danger of being found out.
They hurried off to school as soon as they could find their caps, and
during the whole of that forenoon lived in a state of excitement and
fear that can hardly be described.
Leon's bank-book felt as heavy as lead in his pocket. Of course he felt
guilty, and it seemed to him that the students sitting in his immediate
vicinity stared at him a good deal, and with an expression on their
faces which seemed to say that they knew all about it.
More than once Leon was on the point of backing squarely out and
writing a note on his slate to his cousin, telling him he would not
go; but every time he resolved upon this a neat little cabin in the
mountains, with its luxurious beds of buffalo robes, joints of venison
and bear-meat hanging from the rafters, and a couple of fleet Indian
ponies feeding in the glade close by, would rise before his mental
vision, and Leon would tell himself that it was worth while to run some
risk, if, by so doing, he could live in that way.
Then there was his unhappy home--Leon did not consider that it was
made so by his own acts; the gloomy school-room; the law against going
outside the gate; the prohibition that had been laid upon his hunting
for the rest of the season--all these things came into his mind, and
Leon would shut his teeth hard and resolve again that he would carry
out his plans, no matter what happened.
As the hour of twelve drew near, Leon became as nervous and frightened
as he was when he stole the bank-book in the morning. The money must be
drawn from the bank, and it must be drawn, too, before one o'clock, or
not at all that day.
It would be dangerous to postpone this important matter, for his
parents might discover that the book was gone from the drawer, and that
would lead to an investigation. The sooner their plans were carried
into execution, and they were safe out of town, the better it would be
for them.
When school was dismissed, the two boys hurried down the street,
keeping a good lookout on every side for Leon's father. The lawyer's
office was over the bank, and they did not want to go in there after
the money until they had satisfied themselves that he had gone home to
his dinner.
Mr. Parker had a good deal of business to do with the bank, and what
if he should happen to drop in just as the cashier was handing out
Leon's six hundred dollars! The bare thought was enough to frighten
them, and they were very cautious in their movements.
They did not see Mr. Parker's carriage when they reached Main Street,
but they thought it best to reconnoitre before entering the bank, so
they kept on down the street, and when they passed the stairs leading
to Mr. Parker's office, they glanced into the hall and saw him standing
there, conversing with a couple of gentlemen.
"That knocks us," whispered Leon. "We must give it up for to-day."
"No, sir!" answered Frank emphatically. "You'll never make your way in
the world if you are going to give up as easy as that. Let's go where
we can keep an eye on him. He'll go to his dinner pretty soon."
As Frank spoke, he led the way across the street, and into Smith &
Anderson's store. One of the clerks came up to serve them, but Frank
said they didn't want anything.
"Of course, your father saw us come in here," said he in a whisper to
Leon, "and if he follows us to see what we are about we'll buy some
crackers and cheese for a lunch."
But Mr. Parker did not follow them. The boys had scarcely taken up
their positions in front of the window, when he came out of the hall
and went into the bank.
If Leon and his cousin had not exercised so much caution, he would
certainly have caught them there.
At the end of ten minutes, he came out, and walked briskly across the
park toward home.
As soon as he had disappeared, the boys opened the door and went out.
They hurried across to the bank, and Leon, with a trembling hand,
placed his book upon the glass shelf in front of the cashier's desk.
"How much do you want to-day, Leon?" asked that officer.
"I want all of it, sir," was the reply.
"_All_ of it!" repeated the cashier.
The words were uttered in a tone of surprise, and Leon almost expected
that the man would tell him he could not pay out so large a sum of
money until he knew what it was to be used for; but he did nothing of
the kind.
He knew that the boy had been allowed by his indulgent father to manage
his bank account to suit himself, and he had no comments to make.
He consulted a huge ledger that lay on one of the desks, made some
figures with a pencil in Leon's book, and then he came back and began
counting out the money.
While he was thus engaged, the boys paced back and forth in front
of the desk, and cast frequent and anxious glances toward the door,
fearing that somebody might come in.
But luck was on their side, and their fears were not realized.
The cashier was a long time in counting out the money, but finally
he completed his task, and handed out to Leon a pile of bills that
made him and Frank open their eyes in the greatest amazement. It was
so large that when Leon rolled it up he could hardly get it into his
pocket.
"My gracious!" he exclaimed, as he and Frank hurried out, and bent
their steps toward the school-house; "I had no idea that I owned so
much cash."
"Six hundred dollars is a nice little amount of money," answered Frank,
"and you must have a tidy sum there for interest. I tell you, Leon,
that will set us up in good shape. It will buy us a splendid outfit,
and keep us in provisions until we can capture furs enough to get more.
We have taken two dangerous steps, and there are only two left."
"What are they?" asked Leon.
"Stealing your gun out of that bookcase is one, and leaving the house
with our baggage is the other. If we can take those two steps without
being caught, we can breathe easy, for we shall have nothing but plain
sailing before us."
It turned out that Frank was anything but a good prophet. Circumstances
rendered it comparatively easy for them to secure the gun and leave the
house, but they did not afterward have plain sailing.
It was but a short time after that that the trouble began.