contrary to his usual custom, philip spent the evening at home; and, as he must have something to occupy him, he spent it in reading. usually, he cared very little for reading, and was prone to spend the evening out.
mrs. ross regarded her son with approval, as she saw him steadily reading all the evening.
"i do believe you're getting studious, phil," she said.
"i'm interested in a story," remarked phil.
"how much better it is to spend the evening at home reading than to be gadding about?" said his mother.
"well, you know a boy can't be always reading," observed philip.
if mrs. ross had been a close observer, she might have noticed that philip got over wonderfully few pages. indeed, he sometimes held the book open at the same place for half an hour together. the fact was that philip cared very little for reading, unless he could get hold of some highly sensational story about highwaymen or pirates. he simply used the book as a cover.
the colonel, his father, was sitting in a room which he called his office, opening out of the family sitting-room, and philip had seated himself so that he could look into that room, and watch what his father was doing.
near his desk, colonel ross kept a small, iron-bound trunk, which he used as a sort of safe, or a repository for valuable papers, and sometimes for bonds and securities. it was imprudent, for anyone might readily have carried it off; but the colonel didn't think of this, or, at any rate, didn't feel inclined to go to the expense of a safe. indeed, most of his bonds and securities were deposited in the strong room of the county bank, and, therefore, his imprudence was less.
philip's eager attention was roused when he saw his father rise from his desk, take up the trunk and open it, as it lay on the desk where he placed it.
"now, i may find out what he has inside," thought philip.
colonel ross opened it, as i have said, and took out several envelopes. opening one of these, he drew therefrom what philip recognized to be government bonds, and spread them out before him.
what was the object of this examination, philip could not divine, nor did he particularly care, though he might had he known that his father was considering the expediency of selling them, and buying another security--the stock of a certain railroad--which would pay larger dividends. his main interest was to ascertain whether his father had any government bonds, and this question he was now able to answer in the affirmative.
after a brief inspection, colonel ross replaced in the trunk the securities he had taken from it, and locked the trunk. the bunch of keys, one of which opened the trunk, he laid on the desk, unconsciously, probably.
"i hope he'll forget 'em," said philip to himself. "it'll save me a good bit of trouble."
it seemed likely that the keys would be forgotten, for colonel ross, as though his business were ended, took the lamp from his desk, and entered the sitting-room, where his wife and son were seated.
"i don't know how it is, wife," he said, "but i feel sleepy."
"it isn't your bed hour yet. it is only half-past nine."
"that is true, but i shall go to bed earlier than usual to-night."
"all the better for me," thought philip. "now, if mother would only go, too!"
it seemed as if everything was turning out favorably for his plan, for his mother answered:
"well, i think i will accompany you--that is, if philip won't feel lonely."
philip's heart beat with eager satisfaction. he had expected that he would be obliged to go to bed, and wait there till his father and mother were asleep, then steal downstairs, running the risk of detection, light a lamp, and commit the theft. now it looked as if he could do it much more easily.
he answered, in as indifferent a voice as he could assume:
"i am not at all sleepy. i'll stay up a little longer and read."
mrs. ross nodded, in a satisfied way, to her husband.
"i do believe phil's getting fond of reading," she said.
"i hope he is," returned the father.
"phil," said his mother, "the servant is out tonight. a cousin of hers is sick, and i gave her permission to stay with her all night. are you willing to close up the house?"
"oh, yes," answered phil, briskly. "i'm glad she's away," he thought. "she won't be spying round and see what i'm about. besides, i can leave the door open, so that it will be easier to accuse harry gilbert."
"good-night," said his mother.
"good-night, mother."
"don't stay up too late reading."
"no, i won't."
"how many more pages are there, philip?" asked his father.
"about four hundred," answered phil, looking over to the end.
"then i wouldn't advise you to sit up till you've finished the book," he said, jocosely.
"i guess not. i shan't sit up more than half an hour."
so colonel and mrs. ross went upstairs, and the coast was clear.
when he was left alone, and felt that the hour so long anticipated had come, philip's heart beat fast.
"come; it's easier than i hoped," he said to himself. "and father left his keys, too, on the desk. i hope he won't think of them, and come downstairs after them. that might upset my plans, though i've got a lot of old keys in my pocket, and one of them might answer. however, there's none so good as the real thing."
philip had to consider whether he would wait till his father and mother were asleep, or act sooner. he at length decided, in the words of shakespeare, though he was not familiar with them:
"if 'twere done with when 'tis done, then, 'twere well it were done quickly."
the argument was this: if he acted soon, he could make use of his father's keys, and that would save him trouble. on the other hand, there was some risk that his father might think of them, and, coming downstairs, surprise him. however, philip didn't think this was likely, and, in any event, he resolved to take the risk. he could pretend that he had just caught sight of his keys, and was going to carry them upstairs for safekeeping.
indeed, philip did not wait more than ten minutes.
"father must be in bed by this time," he said to himself.
he took the small lamp by which he was reading, and entered his father's office.
there lay the keys, and there stood the trunk.
he took the bunch of keys and selected a small one, which he thought likely to fit the trunk.
it did.
the lid was lifted, and philip, with eager hand, took the envelope which he knew contained the government bonds. it was a bulky envelope, and contained probably eight or ten bonds.
of course, philip didn't venture to take all. he selected two, of one hundred dollars each, and replaced the others in the envelope, and afterward in the trunk.
he put the bonds in his inside coat pocket, and, hastily refastening the trunk, replaced the keys on his father's desk.
he breathed a sigh of relief to think the thing was done, and walked over to the window.
what was his gratification to see harry gilbert walking by on the other side of the street.
"all happens right," he said. "now, harry can't say he was at home. i'll fix him. i'll say i saw him at the window, looking in, and his denial won't amount to much, when he admits, as he will, that he was near the house."
he would have felt differently had he seen the face of tom calder peering in at one of the side windows. tom had spent the evening in the village, and was now on his return to his chamber, on the second floor of the stable. his attention was attracted by the light in the room, and, as the curtain was partly raised, he took the liberty of peering in, unobserved.
"by gracious!" he exclaimed, in amazement. "phil is stealing gov'ment bonds from his father. he's a bad one, but i didn't think that of him."
tom slipped out, resolved to consider at his leisure what he had better do about imparting his secret information. it was well he did, for phil himself almost immediately came to the same window.
