we have strayed so far from our subject that the reader may be at a loss to take our original meaning. if so, when the boys are saved let him refer to will’s soliloquy and what immediately follows, and light will burst upon him.
[187]
will drew nearer the fire, and looked at the demon with wondering eyes, as every fifteen minutes or so he swung the huge fan suspended from the ceiling. this fan effectually cleared the apartment of smoke, but what became of the smoke was to will an appalling mystery.
as time passed, and no relief came, will’s uneasiness returned. his anxiety about henry became intolerable; he could endure it no longer. better even to anger the demon than sit in silence and suffer torments. when he went out, surely he must have seen henry.
this hero was one of those extremely patient people who, lest they should incommode somebody else, will endure untold agony, when a simple question might set all their doubts and fears at rest.
“sir,” he ventured to ask, “do you think he was badly hurt? or—or—didn’t you go to look for him?”
the demon, who had been sitting beside the fire for the last half hour, with his head resting on his hands and his elbows supported by his knees, started violently. he had evidently been so deeply absorbed in thought that he had forgotten another was present.
“ha!” he cried excitedly. “ha! what is this?” (madmen always say “ha!” generally twice.) then, recovering himself, he added, “yes, yes; i’m going to speak to you presently. what did you say just now?”
will repeated his question.
“ho! there was another with you, then!” he exclaimed. “i was afraid that i had been mistaken again. i am deceived so often that i don’t know when to believe even myself. then there was another. but he had gone when i went out to see. who was he?”
will was thunder-struck. could he rely on this strange man? if henry had gone, he could not have been killed. but where could he be? had he forsaken him, his cousin? no; he could not believe that henry, so noble, brave, and true, could be guilty of such treachery. then had he been found by some one, and taken away? if so, why did he not return with a band of men to save his cousin? in truth, will was mystified. if he had known that the poor boy was near him, lying helpless on the[188] ground, exposed to the cold night air, and moaning with pain, he would have thought their case a desperate one indeed.
at length he collected himself sufficiently to answer the demon’s question by giving his cousin’s name.
“and who are you?” asked the madman.
“william lawrence.”
“why did you two come here?” the demon asked abruptly.
this was an unexpected question; will was not prepared to answer it. “to see the cave,” he said at last.
“did you two come alone, or is some one else lurking near?”
“no, sir; we came entirely alone.”
“that is well. you did not come to do me any harm?”
will thought he could safely say “no” to that.
after a pause the demon said slowly, as though he had settled it in his own mind: “you are a good little boy. i like you; you must stay with me; i want a fine little fellow like you to be with me all the time.”
will was struck dumb with consternation. he could not appreciate the compliment thus paid him.
“no, sir,” he said imploringly, “i cannot stay here at all. you must let me out, and i must find my cousin and go home.”
“no, i cannot let you go! you shall live with me for the rest of my life. sit down!” he cried, as will started to his feet.
then he darted to the door, and placed his back against it.
“but what would my parents say to that? they would never let me stay here,” will protested.
luckless boy! in his distress he knew not what to do or say.
“parents? have you parents?” the demon inquired.
“certainly i have,” said will, with great dignity.
“then, why did they allow a little boy, you are only a boy, to come here at this time of night?”
will could say nothing in his defence. he hung his head in confusion.
[189]
“well, i shall keep you here till morning, at least. if i should let you go now, how do i know what you two might plot against me? no! here you are; here you stay!”
will was only a boy, and he did not consider that a strong man is seldom or never afraid of the machinations of school-boys, so he said earnestly: “if you let me out immediately, i promise that we will go: home as fast as possible.”
the demon continuing inexorable, the boy said desperately, “sir, we have friends who will certainly come for us, if you do not let me out.”
“say no more,” replied the demon, “for i cannot let you go. listen: people take it into their heads sometimes to molest me, but i always come out all right! i teach them a lesson that they remember! your punishment will be to remain till i choose to set you free.”
the horrible stories told by henry again flashed through the prisoner’s mind, but he was not terrified. looking intently at the demon, he fancied that instead of wickedness he saw playfulness in his eye.
“he is only trying to frighten me,” was will’s thought.
the demon had moved back to the fire after making his last remark, and presently will, seeing no other means of escape, sprang to his feet and rushed headlong towards the door. he had barely reached it when the demon was upon him. once more two long and sinewy arms encircled the helpless boy, and he was borne struggling back to the fire.
“treacherous boy!” cried the demon. “i’ll settle your fate in the morning; now you will have to be locked up in your room.”
without another word he carried will into the bedroom already described, and laid him upon the bed.
“get in between the quilts, and you will be comfortable,” he said, as he turned to go.
again the door was fastened, and again our blundering hero found himself a close prisoner in the demon’s bedroom.
his thoughts were far from being pleasant. “if i had[190] had the cleverness of any other boy, i should not be here now,” he muttered. “by my own silly questions and answers i only made matters worse. henry, charley, george, or even marmaduke, could have outwitted him easily; steve would have made him a prisoner, ten to one, and escaped at his leisure. oh! this is horrible! i must get away!”
he jumped lightly off the bed, and knelt before the door. by good fortune, he found a crack through which he could observe every movement made by the demon.
“well, this is a good beginning!” he said, hopefully, “i shall watch till he goes to bed, and then try again.”
but the demon, with provoking composure, sat and dozed before his fire.
time passed exceedingly slowly to poor will. he thought it must be near the middle of the night, while it was not yet ten o’clock.
at length the madman arose and opened a concealed door in the wall. then he lighted a candle, passed in, and shut the door softly behind him.
will, like all boys, had a touch of the romantic, and he was delighted to see henry’s suspicions verified. his spirits rose, and he chuckled joyously: “well, it’s a regular robbers’ den, after all. concealed doors and everything to match. if henry is only alive, and i can get away, it won’t be so bad, after all! and now that he’s gone i guess i can manage it, after all!”
he waited a few minutes, and then began to fumble at his door. while in the outer room with the demon, he had taken notice of the way in which this door was fastened, and seen that it was by means of a heavy bolt on the outside. he had also observed that in the door, above the bolt, there seemed to be an opening, covered with a shingle that slid back and forth on the inside.
feeling carefully for this shingle, he found it, took out a pin which held it fast, and shoved it back.
“the demon ain’t so careful as he wants to be!” will said sagely. “surely, here is a loophole of escape! i wish i could ease my feelings by heaping up big and meaning words, as henry or george would do.”
[191]
he waited a few moments in some uneasiness, fearing that the demon might have heard him tampering with the lock; but as all remained quiet he put his hand through the opening, and shoved back the bolt.
the door opened, and will stood in the outer room.
having taken the precaution of shutting and bolting his door, he was warily drawing near the front door, when a strange sound proceeding from the demon’s hiding-place attracted his attention.
he heard the clink of money.
will paused. “i’ll see what this means,” he said heroically, “but i’ll not run the risk of being captured. no; i’m too near freedom to throw away my chances just to see a crazy man finger his money.”
picking up a stick from the smouldering fire, he softly approached the concealed door.
poor boy! experience should have taught him better than to play the robber-kitten—but when does experience profit a boy?
his usual luck befell him; he stumbled and fell prostrate with a crash.
the demon must have heard him, for he had barely regained his feet when, with a cry of dismay, the concealed door was flung open. on seeing will, the demon did not stop to shut it, but darted upon him with fury. in his headlong course he struck against a stone and fell heavily.
will waited to see him rise, and stood ready to defend himself. but the demon lay upon the floor immovable. his head had struck some hard substance, and he was insensible.
presently will went up to the demon. “poor fellow!” he said compassionately, “he is badly hurt! his fall was serious; mine was only a stumble. i can’t go away and leave him in this state; i must help him.”
tenderly he raised the powerless man, and exerting all his strength, he dragged him to a bench close by, and laid him on it. then he saw that the demon’s head was severely hurt.
“now, if he wakes up and finds me taking care of him,[192] he won’t hurt me; so i shall go and get some water to bathe his head,” was will’s next thought. “henry said there was a spring, or water of some kind, in the cave, but there is certainly none in this room. well, i must leave him and look for some.”
snatching up a little pail, he hurried into the room which the demon had just left. here he stopped a moment to look about. the room was very much like the two already described; there was a rude couch in it, but it was scantily furnished. the demon had evidently given up his “best bedroom” to will.
our hero’s wandering eyes soon rested on the most noticeable “chattel” in the room,—a large and strong box, the lid of which lay open. in this box there was a little pile of silver coins.
“hello!” he said, “the demon has some money, after all! this is what he was jingling and counting, i suppose. well, there’s no water here; i must go on.”
if will had stopped to count the demon’s treasure, he would have found it a very modest fortune. in round numbers it amounted to only five dollars. ($5.00.)
o, golden legends of our youth,
o, thrilling tales of riper years,
how cruelly do you deceive!
a door stood open, leading from this room into a larger one.
“i’d better try this,” will muttered. “it looks dark enough and big enough for a cavern, and there ought to be water in it, if anywhere.”
having made his way into this apartment, will found it to be spacious, but dark and desolate. a solitary lamp, which burned feebly, was of little avail in such darkness. after taking a few steps he heard the purling of water; and on reaching the spot he found a little stream of pure water, which doubtless emptied into the brook in the valley, running over the ground. he filled his pail and hurriedly retraced his steps, noticing several openings into the outer room, concealed there, but visible here.
“well, this demon is a queer fellow!” he soliloquized, as he went along. “he seems to have all kinds of hiding-places[193] here, that nobody knows about. now, what in the world does he do with so many rooms, and why does he keep a light burning in this hole? perhaps he keeps it burning all the time on account of the darkness. i don’t wonder he has money; it must take a fortune to live here, for it is just the same as living in a castle. well, i’ve explored his secret regions till i’m tired of it; and i guess henry was right when he said a band of robbers fitted it up for a menagerie.”
a minute later he was again with the demon, whom he found still insensible. taking out his handkerchief, he bathed the man’s head gently, and did everything he could to restore consciousness. but all in vain.
“oh, dear!” he cried, “i shall have to leave him and look for henry. i’m sure henry is alive, but i must find him, and then we can come here again and help the demon.”
he arose and left the cave.
the writer has a great deal of boldness in attempting to depict the emotions of his numerous heroes in their joys or sorrows; but he declines to say anything about the meeting of the cousins on this occasion. it was affecting in the extreme.
as time passed and the boys did not return, mr. and mrs. mortimer became very uneasy. being fully aware of their son’s recklessness, they did not know what danger he and will might, even at that moment, be incurring. all day the two had been whispering mysteriously together, as though contriving some dark scheme; and perhaps, like don quixote and his squire, they had set out in quest of adventures.
“why couldn’t they have said where they were going, anyway?” mr. mortimer growled impatiently.
mrs. mortimer was a woman who permitted her son to do very much as he pleased, never interfering with his plans of amusement as long as he kept within proper bounds.
“henry said he would tell me all about it when he came back; and he seemed, to be in such a hurry that i didn’t like to question him,” she said mildly. “i—i think it must be all right.”
[194]
“let us go up to the boys’ room,” mr. mortimer said; “perhaps we can find a clue to their whereabouts.”
they went up-stairs immediately. the cousins had not shut the drawer, and a single glance into it told that they had been loading pistols.
“oh! this is horrible!” groaned mr. mortimer. “wasn’t that boy will sent here because he got into disgrace about gunpowder?”
“yes,” mrs. mortimer said faintly.
“yes; and now, after trying to destroy the boys in his own village, he has come here, to put an end to our henry!” he continued fiercely. “till he came, henry’s balloons were all right, and i was proud of them; but see how he tampered with his model! henry never dreamed of loading his pistols, and going out with them. henry is full of life, i know; but this is all that boy’s doings.”
this was unjust to poor will; but what parent would have laid the blame on his own son?
seeing that his wife was ready to burst into tears, he moderated his anger, and said soothingly, “oh, they’re all right, nelly; henry knows enough to keep out of danger, if will doesn’t. but i can’t stand this suspense any longer; i’ll go out and hunt till i find them; and i’ll let you know as soon as i get on their track.”
as he went out of the house he muttered audibly: “well, i must send word to this boy’s mother to keep him in leading-strings till he’s twenty-one. how easily we manage henry! it’s all in management, of course; and if mrs. lawrence would do as well as her sister, will would be a very good boy. as it is, he can’t behave himself even away from home; and now the two are deep in some horrible powder trick!”
how grieved henry would have been if he could have heard his father speak slightingly of his elaborate plot as a “trick”!
boys, here is another pretty precept, which you will do well to commit to memory: never associate with those who are smarter than yourselves; for, if you do, you will be blamed equally with them when they lead you into mischief.
[195]
after many fruitless inquiries, mr. mortimer at length met with a youth who told him that about dark he had seen henry and another boy riding off with a teamster. mr. mortimer felt relieved, and sent word to his wife; but for some time he could trace them no farther. at last, however, he found the very teamster,—he having returned to the city,—and from him he learnt where the boys probably were.
having assembled a body of men, he set out for the cave forthwith, and reached it a few minutes after will had joined henry. a happy meeting took place, and tears of joy and thankfulness trickled down the cheeks of the knights-errant. henry was tenderly carried to the road, and put into a vehicle in waiting.
meanwhile, will was speaking to mr. mortimer about the demon. he listened attentively; and seeing no better way of settling the matter, he determined to take the unfortunate man home with him. then, after fastening up the cave against intruders, the entire party returned to town.
on the way, henry and will recounted their exploits glibly; the former nobly taking to himself all the blame, or heroism, the latter putting in a word now and then to enforce the others remarks. poor boys! now that the affair was over they wished to make the best of it. mr. mortimer listened patiently, and gradually it dawned upon him that his own son had planned this expedition to the cave. however, as long as henry had done it, it must be all right. he did not reprove them for their foolishness; he was troubled about many things, and feared that his son’s injuries were more serious than they seemed.
when the cousins entered the town they found that there was something of a commotion among the people. prominent citizens stopped mr. mortimer to express their congratulations, and to see the youths who had “bearded the lion in his den;” while the little street arabs gave vent to their feelings by shouting, “bully for you!” “henry’s a bouncer!” “up with yer hands, and off with yer hats; henry’s the boy for to b-u-s-t um!”
“will, i guess we’re heroes, after all!” henry chuckled,[196] “when i was suffering down there at the foot of the hill, i almost concluded that we’d made fools of ourselves; but this doesn’t seem like it!”
“yes; but i wish they wouldn’t take so much notice of us.”
“fiddle! will, you ought to live in the city!”
the party moved on. a golden head leaned out of the upper window of a certain house which they were approaching; the beautiful blue eyes glanced anxiously up and down the street; a well-known voice—the voice of the girl who had given henry a glass ink-bottle—asked timidly of a passer-by: “have they found them yet?”
a certain boy—by name, the estimable johnny jones—was loitering near, blinking with sleep and jealousy; and he took it upon himself to answer jeeringly: “found them? oh, yes; they’ve found the heroes, and they’re carting them home in the wagon that’s just here.”
the golden head was drawn in quickly, but the window was not shut.
the heroes were so near that they heard all. then again the street arabs ran alongside; again they took up their cry.
poor johnny jones! his envy, or jealousy, was almost too much for him.
and henry?
his heart bounded with delight; he was supremely happy. to hear such words from her lips was ample recompense for all that he had suffered or might yet suffer.
it was nearly five years later; henry was just twenty-one. he and a beautiful woman, dressed in bridal costume, were stepping into a railway carriage that was to take them to a steamer about to set sail for europe.
“will,” he said suddenly, “pull off your hat quick, and bow! i—i can’t; i’m too stiff.”
wonderingly, and, alas! how awkwardly, will raised his hat.
after they had passed the house henry began to wonder what johnny jones had been doing there. had he been talking to her? his eyes flashed fire; he was miserable.
[197]
foolish boy, he was troubling himself needlessly. and if he had been more a philosopher, he would have known that jonny jones, in saying those few jeering words, had forever ruined his cause in the eyes of————.
when the cousins reached home, henry’s remaining pistol was unloaded, and a hearty laugh followed; for all knew, of course, that both pistols must have been loaded alike.
henceforth, he could have the pleasure of telling his school-mates that he had been “shot.” there was, however, one drawback: there was no wound to heal, and there would be no scar to show to doubters.
henry was thoroughly warmed; his ankle was rubbed with sundry liniments and carefully bound up; and then the young adventurers were sent to bed.
“well, will, among other consolations there is this: we don’t sit up till ten minutes to twelve every night, do we?”
“no. and we did it, henry, after all! i explored the whole cave, and i’ll tell you all about it to-morrow; i’m too tired now. besides, we rescued the demon!”
this proves that the heroes had not profited by their sufferings.
meantime, the people of the house had been taking care of the madman. under their careful treatment he recovered sufficiently to be able to sit up and converse.
he also had a “tale to tell,” but deferred telling it till the next day; and by one o’clock the whole household was wrapped in slumber.
