The Young Explorer; Or, Claiming His Fortune, Jr. Horatio Alger [easy novels to read .txt] 📗
- Author: Jr. Horatio Alger
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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.
CHAPTER XX. — A THIEF'S DISAPPOINTMENT.
Jack Garter, regardless of his plans respecting his guests, slept through the night, and it was not till after the sun rose that he opened his eyes. His wife was already up and moving about the room.
Jack stretched himself negligently, but all at once his purpose flashed upon him.
"Bess, what time is it?" he demanded.
"Past six o'clock, as you can see by the sun."
"Curse it! what made me fall asleep?" ejaculated Jack, with an oath. "Now it may be too late."
"How long have you been awake, Bess?" he asked.
"An hour or more."
"Why didn't you wake me up?" demanded Jack sharply.
"I didn't know you wanted me to," answered his wife. "Only yesterday you swore at me for waking you up an hour later."
"Yesterday isn't to-day, and I had something to do," said Jack, looking significantly upward.
"Didn't you attend to it last night?"
"No; curse my drowsiness! I fell asleep like a natural-born fool that I was."
"How could I know that? I was asleep myself."
"You always have some excuse," said Jack, rather unreasonably. "Just quit movin' round and makin' a noise. It may not be too late yet."
No sound was heard in the loft above. Happily, the two lodgers might still be asleep, so Jack said to himself, and in that case he might still be able to carry out his plan. At any rate, there was no time to lose, and he began softly to ascend the ladder.
When his head reached the level of the flooring he looked eagerly at the rude couch where his guests lay. Both were fast asleep. Bradley was still held in the power of the powerful drug which had been mingled with his wine, and Ben had yielded to the sound and healthful slumber which at his age follows fatigue. His boyish face lay on his hand, and he looked innocent and happy. There was a smile about his lips, for he was dreaming of his far-away home.
The sight might have appealed to any one less hardened than Jack Carter, calling up memories of his own dead boy, and powerfully appealing to what heart he had left. But Jack felt simply relieved to find that the boy, whose wakefulness he had feared, was sound asleep.
"All the better," he muttered. "It isn't too late, after all. Now, Jack Carter, is your time. I hope you'll make a good haul."
Treading softly, Jack stepped to the side of Bradley. He thought it best to rid him first, for there was no danger of his waking up.
But he was destined to disappointment. The most thorough search brought to light only five dollars in gold.
"What has he done with his money?" muttered the thief, with a frown. "Of course, he must have more."
The idea came to him that the bulk of the money might have been given to the boy, who was
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