"Well," said the a.s.sayer, shaking his gray head in a puzzled fashion, "I don"t understand how you kids work the stunt."
"What stunt?" they all inquired.
"Why, tumbling into every hole you come across and not getting hurt.
You aren"t hurt, are you?"
"No, indeed!"
"And Kitty finded a whole sack full of gold pennies down there, but her won"t div Janie any," volunteered the baby quite unexpectedly.
"She--what?"
"Gold pennies!"
"What does she mean?"
The children lifted questioning eyes to Tabitha"s crimson face, and even the a.s.sayer looked down at her curiously. She had not meant to let the children know about the money; at least, not until she had consulted older and wiser heads than theirs; but now that Janie had betrayed her secret, she displayed her find, and explained how it had come into her possession.
The a.s.sayer"s eyes grew thoughtful, as he examined each coin minutely, and counted the treasure, to make sure that Tabitha"s figures were right. "What shall you do with it?" he finally asked, as he dropped the last piece into the sack and returned it to Tabitha.
"Take it to the bank. I thought it might be part of the money the robbers got."
He glanced at her quickly, keenly; then answered, "That"s the thing to do, all right, and I don"t believe your surmise is far off, either.
But see here, children, don"t you dare lisp a word to a single soul about this money until we know for certain whose it is."
"We won"t," hastily promised the wondering, round-eyed flock, for they stood much in awe of the silent, almost taciturn man who worked wonders with the rock which the miners brought him; and the little company set out for home, leaving Tabitha and the a.s.sayer to carry the precious find over to the bank.
"Do you know," said Gloriana, as the black-eyed girl finished relating the afternoon"s happenings to her, "I half believe that man snooping around the pesthouse is the robber."
"What man?" demanded the startled Tabitha.
"Well, I don"t know who he is, but it is someone I"ve never seen here in town. He was there this morning, but I didn"t think much about it then. We were so excited over the robbery. But this afternoon while the a.s.sayer was dragging you out of the prospect hole, and I was watching through your field gla.s.ses, I happened to turn them in the direction of the pesthouse, and there he was again, humped up on the doorsill, watching through gla.s.ses of his own. When you started off toward town, he hustled into the house and shut the door. Now, it seems to me no one would stay in a _pesthouse_ unless he was hiding from someone."
"No one ever had smallpox there."
"Then why does everyone avoid it so?"
"I don"t know. The name, I reckon. It was built for a pesthouse, but the doctors decided the patient didn"t have smallpox after all, so the building has never been used."
"Then perhaps he knows there is nothing to be afraid of in the house."
"That may be, of course. Is he there yet?"
"Yes, I think he is. I"ve kept a close lookout ever since I discovered him, and I haven"t seen him leave."
Tabitha seemed lost in thought a moment, then turned an eager face toward her companion. "Gloriana, the reward!"
"Could we?"
"Can"t tell till we try!"
"But how----"
"There are only two small windows in the house,--funny, isn"t it, when air is so necessary in case of sickness,--he can"t get out of them. So all we have to do is guard the door."
"But how shall we get him to the--police?"
"Sheriff? I hadn"t thought of that part. We couldn"t tie him up and march him to jail,--we aren"t strong enough, just us girls. We"ll have to make sure he is there, lock him in, and then while one of us guards the door, the other must go for help."
Gloriana shuddered. She hoped it would not fall to her lot to guard the door, and yet she could not bear to think of Tabitha"s staying there alone with only a flimsy structure between her and a desperate character.
"I--we--had we better try it alone?" she asked timidly. "Wouldn"t it be wiser to tell the a.s.sayer and get him to help?"
"The more people there are connected with his capture, the smaller our share of the reward will be. We can do it all right."
Tabitha"s daring swept away her objections. "That"s so," she answered.
"Well, we better not wait any longer then, or perhaps he will get away yet."
"I"m ready," Tabitha replied promptly, and with quaking hearts but determined steps the two set out, armed with a stout stick and the rusty old pistol which Gloriana had used the night the boys had played burglar.
"What is that broom handle for?" questioned the red-haired girl, wondering if she would be expected to crack the desperado over the head with it.
"To lock the door with."
"_Lock the door_?" Could Tabitha have gone suddenly crazy?
"Yes. It"s the only way we can fasten him in. The door has an iron handle on the outside, instead of a k.n.o.b, you see."
"Oh!"
"Is that the man?" The door of the pesthouse had opened abruptly and a short, portly man roughly dressed, unshaved and florid of complexion, appeared on the threshold a moment, eyed the approaching girls indifferently, glanced searchingly toward town, and again vanished within, closing the door behind him. Gloriana"s heart seemed to stop beating, then pounded so loudly that it sounded to her like the pulsing of the engines in the Silver Legion Mine. "Yes," she gasped.
"Then we"ve got him!" Scared but exultant, Tabitha leaped to the door, thrust her stick through the handle, and c.o.c.ked her revolver, just as the man, hearing the noise outside, grasped the k.n.o.b and tried to open the door.
"What the deuce!" they heard him exclaim, and then he wrenched again.
"Who"s out there, and what do you want?" he bellowed in rage, when the door refused to budge.
"You"re our prisoner," Tabitha answered boldly, though trembling like a leaf with nervous dread; "and you might just as well keep quiet as to make a fuss. Glory, hurry for the sheriff, the a.s.sayer--anyone! He"s desperate!"
And indeed he sounded desperate as he kicked and banged the door, shouted and swore, tearing about his small prison like a madman, and breathing threats of vengeance against his jailer, who stood pale but undaunted in front of the door, with a c.o.c.ked revolver clinched tightly in both hands, waiting anxiously for the return of Gloriana with help from town, and thanking her lucky stars that neither of the small windows was on the door side of the house.
Then suddenly the tumult ceased within, and terrified Tabitha began to take courage again. "He has decided to behave himself at last," she thought. "It"s the only sensible thing to do, for he can"t get away from here now without being caught. There comes Glory at last, but oh, gracious! look at the crowd following her. Half the town is out."
Just then a subdued grunt from around the corner of the house caught her attention, and beckoning wildly to the approaching throng, she crept cautiously forward to investigate, but paused again, paralyzed at the sight which met her eyes. The portly prisoner had attempted to escape by means of one of the small windows, and now hung suspended by the middle over the sill, his hands clawing the air helplessly inside, and his heels waving frantically without. At another time, Tabitha, would have shouted with laughter at the ridiculous figure he cut, but now her only thought was to prevent his escaping, and flinging aside her pistol, she plunged toward the body seesawing through the air, and clutched the feet with a determined grip, while the helpless victim protested in emphatic language.
Thus the crowd found them and went wild with delight at the spectacle, much to the discomfiture of both captor and captive, and when at length the florid prisoner was freed from his uncomfortable position, his face was purple with rage and exertion. "What is the meaning of this outrage?" he exploded as soon as he could find sufficient breath to voice his indignation. "Who put you up to such a trick as that, you young minx? Do you know who I am?"
"Why, Jerry Weller!" exclaimed an astonished voice from the interested throng of onlookers. "What are you doing here?"