CHAPTER XIX.
BEN'S MIDNIGHT EXCURSION.
When Jack Carter went downstairs it was his intention to wait fromhalf an hour to an hour, and then to make another visit to hislodgers. This would allow time for Ben to fall asleep, and, althoughJack would have had no difficulty in overcoming his resistance, hepreferred to commit the robbery when both the travelers were in astate of unconsciousness.
But he overestimated his ability to keep awake. Usually he was asound sleeper, and during the day preceding he had taken a long walkacross the mountains. The natural result followed. While he waswaiting for Ben to fall asleep, he fell asleep himself. Ben was notlong in ascertaining this welcome fact. A series of noises, not verymusical, announced that Jack was asleep. He had a confirmed habit ofsnoring, to which, fortunately, his wife had become accustomed, sothat it did not disturb her rest.
Ben crept near the edge of the loft and looked over. The bed onwhich his amiable host reposed was in full view. Both husband andwife 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. Buthere there was a difficulty. Jake could not be roused, and, if hecould, it would not be very agreeable to lose a night's sleep, forBen, as well as his host, felt very sleepy. Yet if he allowedhimself to remain in the loft, the danger of robbery would recur inthe 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 suddenlyopened. A lucky suggestion, sent, perhaps, by an overrulingProvidence, provides a path of escape from some menacing evil. Thishappened in the present instance.
"Why," thought Ben, "can't I take our money, steal downstairs andout of the cabin, and hide it in some secure place where we can findit in the morning? Then I can sleep in security for the remainder ofthe night, and my thievish friend will be disappointed."
No sooner did the idea occur to Ben than he prepared to carry itout.
As has already been said, Bradley had about a hundred dollars ingold pieces, and Ben as much more. This would have made a very goodhaul for Jack, who did not anticipate obtaining so much. It was morethan our young hero felt willing to lose, and he was prepared to runa large risk in the effort to save it.
The risk, of course, was that he might wake Jack or his wife incoming downstairs. There would be no difficulty in opening the door,for it was not fastened in any way. As to the danger of rousing hisentertainers, Ben was not much afraid of waking Jack, for he wasevidently in a sound sleep. His wife was more likely to bedisturbed, and, in that case, Ben was provided with an excuse. Hewould say that he was thirsty, and in search of some water, whichwould have been true enough, though this was not the main object ofhis expedition.
Ben had not taken off his shoes and stockings, and began to descendthe ladder with his shoes on, but it occurred to him that his stepsmight be audible, and he quietly removed both shoes and stockings.He had previously taken Bradley's money, with the exception of a fewdollars, without in the least arousing his sleepy comrade, who, inconsequence of the potion he had unsuspiciously taken, was stillwrapped 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 athrill of excitement that he set foot on the floor of the cabin, andlooked at the sleeping faces of Jack Carter and his wife. But therewas no time to waste. He stepped softly to the door and opened it.
Just then the woman stirred in her sleep, and uttered somethingunintelligible. Ben was alarmed lest she were about to wake up, andstood stock-still, with his fingers on the latch. But there was nofurther sound. The woman partially turned over, and soon her quiet,regular breathing notified Ben that sleep had resumed its power overher. Probably she had stirred in consequence of some uneasy dream.
With a deep breath of relief, Ben opened the door, passed out, andclosed it softly after him.
He was out of the house, and in the freedom of the woods. Beforemorning he might have put fifteen miles between him and the cabin ofhis foes. He would have felt disposed to do so, and avoid allfurther trouble, if Bradley had been with him, and in condition totravel. As this was not to be thought of, he proceeded to search fora suitable place to secrete his troublesome treasure.
The cabin stood in a valley, or canon, in the shadow of giganticpine-trees, rising straight as a flagpole to the altitude of nearlytwo hundred feet. They were forest giants, impressive in their loftystature, and Ben regarded them with wonder and awe. They were muchsmaller in every way than the so-called big trees to be found in theCalaveras and Mariposa groves; but these had not at that time beendiscovered, and the pines were the largest trees our hero had everencountered.
Ben looked about him in vain to find a suitable hiding-place in theimmediate neighborhood of the cabin. If there had been a large flatrock under which he could have placed the gold pieces, that wouldhave suited him; but there was absolutely nothing of the kind insight.
So Ben wandered away, hardly knowing whither his steps were carryinghim, till he must have been at least a quarter of a mile distantfrom the cabin.
Here his attention was attracted by a tree of larger circumferencethan any he had seen nearer, which showed the ravages of time. Thebark was partly worn away, and, approaching nearer, Ben saw that ithad begun to decay from within. There was an aperture about a footabove the ground through which he could readily thrust his hand.
"That's the very thing!" exclaimed Ben, his eyes lighting up withpleasure. "Nobody would ever think of looking for money there. HereI 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 andhimself, and wrapping them securely in a paper which he happened tohave with him, he thrust the whole into the cavity in the tree.
"There!" said he, "our treasure is much safer there than it would bein our possession, for to-night, at least."
Ben carefully took the bearings of the tree, that he might notforget it. There was little difficulty about this, as it was largerthan any of its neighbors, not so tall, perhaps, but of greatercircumference.
"I shall remember it now," he said to himself.
As Ben walked back to the humble cabin he became very drowsy. He wasquite fatigued with his day's march, and it was now nearly or quitetwo 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 knowwhen I have felt more tired."
He reached the cabin door, and listened outside to learn whether anyone were stirring. He could still hear the sonorous snore of Jack,and could distinguish the deep breathing of his hostess. All seemedto be safe.
He softly opened the door, and closed it after him. Without arousingany one, he made his way up the ladder to the loft, where Bradleylay 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.