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-<4-lw-ce+2GOLDE
THE TIN Box.
"’ ’b
BY HORATIO ALGER, JR.
CIIAPTIIR XVI.
BOUND IIANI) xxn FOOT.
Though Harry was a courageous boy,
his heart sunk within him when he
found himself left alone in the wood,
bound hand and foot.
Pegan Ilill woods were of consider-
able extent. In length, they extended
about three miles, while in width they
ranged from a mile and a halt‘ to two
mi es.
Probably, the party had peiietratcd
neai y 9. mile into the wood, and the tree
against which llarry was leaning was
.not l'ar ironi the centre ofthe wood. The
constrained position in which he was
sitting beeainc, after awhile, soniewlmt
painful. The cords, toe, chafed his
esh.
Of course, Harry thought of the possi-
bility of escape. If he could only un-
loosc the cords, he could readily [ind his
way home, reaching there before anxiety
or alarni was excited by his absence.
lie ct to work upon his task, but
found, to his disappoiiitinent, that he
had been too securely boiiud to make
his atteni it i'i ‘lilo.
The cord was tied again and again in
so hard a knot that, even it’ he had had
the use of both his ands, he would have
found it a work of time to undo them.
But when, in . iditiun, his hands were
tied, it becanic well nigh iinpossible.
He worked till he was tired. and rest-
ed, feclinv tli:it thus far he had really
ancoinplis ied iiotliiiig.
“ Philip is about the meanest boy I
know of," he thought to liiniself, bitter-
ly. “ I sup isc lie is triuinpliing over
me, as he has a right to do, for he has got
me into a very awkward scrape.”
This consideration was not like] to
make him any less uncoinfoitablc, for
Harry had his share of lniinan nature.
From Philip, his mind reverted to James
Congreve. The more he thoughtoi‘ Cou-
gireve the less he could understand him.
e was certainlya nmch more gentle-
tnanly I) -nr, ratlier, young man-
tliaii Philip, and our hero disliked him
l
less, though it was (Iongreve that had‘
Um inn.
“ He told Philip to his face that he was
in bullv, and as much as said that I had
served him right in doing what I did in
defense ofthe tiv< chi drun. I don't see
how hc can be a iriend to Philip.“
llarry lnid not much knowledge ofthe
world, however, and would have been
surprised to hear that (‘ongrcve was
more dangerous and . rrnpulous, and
altogetlicr bad, than Philip himself, in
spite of the latter‘s uiiainiable traits.
After a while, lIarry made another at-
tempt to loosen the cords; but t ie sc-
cont time proved as unsuccessful as the
fir-I.
Coiisiderahle time had FHISSBII‘-IIOW‘
much he did not 'now-but, from the
direction in which the sun glaiicetl into
the wood, ho eoiicliided that it was as
late as six o‘clock, and by this time he
wasalinost al " as at ioine.
Indeed. .i' must now be really,
and his mother and their boarder, Uncle
Obed, were probably ready to sit down
to the table, and only waiting for him.
It was certainly very taiit-ali1.ing to be
lying there liclpless, knowing that '
mother would soon be anxious and trou-
bled about him.
“ If could only use my knife,"
thought Harry, “ I would make short
work of these cords.“
He had a knife in his pocket.
E
I
ll a boy i
has only twenty-live cents in his p mket, ,
he is sure to spend it for some kinil of a
knil'e, or he must be very dilfcrent from
the average boy.
So, of course Harry was provided with
a knife-a good, strong jack-knil‘c-but
hr all the good it was likely to do him it
might I
His hands being tied, of course he muld
not get the knife out of his pocket, and
even if he had done so, how could he
make use of it ‘P
“I never know twine was so strum;
hefore," thought poor llarry, rucfully,
after a third unsui ssful attempt to get
UH.
I10 lay awhile longer, gottiiig more
and more liopclossof an czirlv relous .
By this time his appetitc begaii to as.
itself.
just as well have l)('('n at lionio. .
dinner, and natur-ally felt all the more
liuiigry now.
He lregaii to think wis fully of the good
N DAXISE-6%
“ IIow long have yo u been lying
there 1"’ '
. “Scveial l)()IlrSfI can‘t tell how long.”
bread and butter and slices ofeolil meat 1 “ It 5 =1 "min trick. mI.VWu.V
and pic which his inotlicr was wont to
provide for the cvciiiiigr meal, and Sunni
twiiiv,;i>soi' excusable cnt ' were felt, as
he ]liUllli‘('(l .laiiics(1oiigruv and Philip
who had broiiglit this trouble upon him,
sitting down at it well-cover il slipper-
table, eating as llt‘.2ll'lIl). if they had
not left 11 victim in the wood., ln.-lpless
.‘
it iv s not a prospect c-.ilcul:iied to im-
. ’ ' hchad had onlv
lint llarry, ' -
of his mother, really ii-a
by the thou htoi' her anxiety, and the
sleepless night it would entail upon her.
the llIIil'lllll'b he i
being released. .auios ngreve
pi-oinised that he would come and re-
lcase him, and our hero lblt conlideiit
that he would do so.
upon Philip, there would
chance of it, but it was c: -y
Philip and (‘ongreve we e not alike. (
course this gave him hopc, but it was
not ploasaiit to think oi" a night passed
in the dark wood; not that , wa
timid or siipcrstitiousvlie was in h
but it is hard not to ht ' incwliat allcct-
be small
to see that
s.
.n N 1 ed with these
reflectioiis, siiddciily a peculiar sound
clinic to his ears, and looking up he was
startled by the sight of a black snake, at
lV'hut V ,
pulsion that exists betwecii the human
race and the snake, it is, at all events,
enuine, and Harry shared it.
With distended eyes, he tgazed at this
sleek i‘oe of human
strong desire to throw !s'OlllL’tllIllL’,‘ at it,
or crush it under foot. But, abs! he
was able to do ucitlicr.
Suppose it should advaiice upon him, ‘
helpless and unable to dci'cnd liiinsclf,
and strike its r2Ill,‘.(S into his tlcsh, or coil,
with slippery fold, about him. “'li:it
could he do? The pm'spiratioii came
out upon his brow, and he made a tre-
inendous ell‘-p to got away.
Apparently it. pus; ot' his II“II)l0S5‘:-
ness, the snake reniaiiicd quietly look-
ing at him, and bcgaii, after a pause,
slowly to glide toward him.
llarry uttered a shrill cry of alarm,
which, I am sure, Illlll<’I the eir(:uin-
stances, was not di.si-rcditableto his coiir- i
soul was Iilled with horror
ill.
It was a i'ori.uniitc cry, for it brought
Tlio sound of ilying feet were
heard, and an instant later a boyof about
his own :I',;L'(31llIl<3 rusl ing up.
““'liiit‘s the niatte " he asked.
“ Look there I“ said llarry, has i V .
“ By Jcliosopliat 1" exolaiined the buy,
anrl arlvancin<,: toward the snake he
aiined a blow at his 4. st with a rough,
stout stick which he held in his iaiid.
The blow fell with good elieet. The
snake had not seen his new adversary,
and was i.2l'Ul) iiuawares. ’l‘Iic jzlfjgctl
stick bore his s iii,aiid his liuad drop-
ped forward, maimed and writhintg.
i
-I
“ Follow it up!"i icd llarry, in ex-
citeinent. “ Kill him!"
“I'll do it," id the boy, and he
.spraii;; l'orw:u'd to renew his attack.
lie found a rock, or, rather, a large
stone, close at hun<l, with which
bruised the serpent's head, and killed
him.
“ l'gh. you uw,;l,v beast!" lie
tonc oi‘ disgust, mist
?l..‘llf.(lI of l'(‘llI’l.
“ “'lrv didn't you kill him yoiii'.scli'’.’'' ‘
'l‘li:in, for l.l)l'. lirsi Illllf‘
llai'ry's
“Xl.'liat's
asked the boy.
iictivingg, in tlic iiiilistiiivt light,
condition, ill‘ said, in siirprisc:
the matter with you‘!'‘
“ You sue I am lied.“
“ “'ho ii:-ul ,vi>Ii‘."‘
“ 'l'h:it‘s a lou-,1 stori’.
tliuru‘s a gouii I'cllou and
The boy iiliippcrl out a
pot-,ki>t.:iiiilqii . lvrui thr-sii If’. llarry
up and strvicln-ll hisarms and
Just uutic in
I'll l.I'.ll vou."
he said.
“ lint who Iiwl you ‘."‘
“'l‘u'o boy.-i that had aspiic a;.1:tiiist
me At Ioasi, one had, and the other
He had not eaten a very hearty , was his friend."
liad it depended I
l throiigli the wood. How did you happen ,
L>r- .
kind, and felt a .
his ‘
kniii-, rmiii im
gs.
“ ll, suuiiis good to be free once inure,“
‘ l
I should have Iuid to stay
ouli:idn't coinculong."
7 “So it is.
here nllnight, M
“Or ‘i’ the snzikc lr.idn‘t swallowed
'<
iii !"
llarry shuddered at the mention of
the sun e.
“ hat was the worst of it," he said.
l
l
l
l
l
1
l ClIAI"I‘l<Ilt XVII.
WHAT IIARRY sxw is THE woon.
“What is your name ?“ asked IIar
“ I don‘t rcmenibcr seeing you befoi .
l “ I live on the other ‘side of the wood.
, My name is Reuben ltieliardsoii.”
, “ lticliardson ?”
‘ Y we only moved he r e two
in
5
month.
‘ e, and I haven‘t had achanec
to get aeqiiaiiitcd much. '
.,.,
W hat is you r
conlidciit of, nani
had 3
H Ilzl y (:ilbci‘t."
“ I suppo, -vou live in the village?"
“Y ‘ ts lucky for me you came
T here isn‘t much traveling
1Il<)llj.’,.
to be here ‘."‘
“ I w:is exploring a little. I was on my
way home when I heard your shout.
guess I must be going now. I have to
get up early in the niorning, and so I go
, to bell early."
, “Well, good-ni<-lit, Reuben. Come
and see me somel ay, Anybody will tell
‘ you where] live.”
“Tllilllk you. If you ever come our
wa stop at the farm and see me.”
“ So I will."
i The two boys parted, with friendly
good-iiij.:lits.
“ltcubcn seeins a nice sort of boy,"
said llarry, to liiniself, as he threaded
l his way tIiroii;.=;h the woods in a home-
lward di ( tion. “I don’t know what
i would have happened to me if he hadn't
l
come along.
The moon was already up, though it
was still ea '
, and cast a mild I‘tl(IliIllC6
' ches
,i V ing it ‘
get home and rclicve his motlicrls anx-
tv.
Ile hail goiic perhaps quarter of a mile
when he heard the V()lCl,‘H, indistinct as
, vet, oi men, who seemed to beapproach-
lug. v
()rdiiiarily, he wduld have kept right
on, without i'caror. isp H], but itinight
have icon the cxpcrit,-iitv througli which
he had iist passed that made him more
cantioi .. ,
At any rate, he licgaii to look round to
see where ho could Ii s conceal hiinscli‘
l till the lIUW('()lllel'S sell.
He caught sight of a tree that seemed
. easy to clinib, and he swung himself up
uscciidiiig from limb to limb,
as probably tweiitv-tivc feet
above the i,, oiind, concealed by the foli-
age and the obscurity oi‘ nig it
v llc hadn't long to wait.
l’rcsviitl, EN,‘ emerged i'roin the
thicker r susof the wood two men,
I si utinized them both, but he
only rceogiii1.ed one. hat one was it
man iuimed Ralph Temple, geiierallv
coiisidcro(l a iiclcr-(lo-wcll and a Vl1‘,‘,'lI-
bond, who lived in a tiiniiile-down
sli:iiiLv in the edge of the wood.
“This is the place I was thinking of,“
. iid ’l‘i-inple, halting about twcntv ILUL
iiom the tree in which Harry was con-
ct-alwl.
“It seems a lonely, out-of-tlie-wax’
l)l2lI‘4' " said his com in it ’
I in.
iid, in a ‘I e no one is lik ly to seek the box
here. No me l,‘Vl'l'(‘()IlIOS hcrc. 'l‘hcru
is a path throiigh the wood, which .
“
‘those who pass tlirough
9..
..
it."
t-loll froin the path
Y ,s. ‘
"-“'li<-re
the ll4IX 1""
“ l'ndvr
' ten feet i'roin ii. in an oastcrlv
do you think it best to hide
that tree will he a good
id west are all alike to uie here;
l the iliil‘ei'4-iu- -."
and so could you with a coin-
Hll I‘,
“ I can;
pass "
H shall you know the place again ?”
“Yes; do you notice that mark on the
liark oi" the in-rs‘! was struc bv
liggliiiiiiig once, lint that was all the liariii
done In i
“Howl! 'l'liat will slrrvc to idi-nIil'v il.
, Ihii why wiuldii‘t no liavc (El)IlI'.(':Il<'.ltl it
‘ n4-ar--r your x--.iIiiii?“
“ I don‘i want to l'all undt-rsuspicion,"
said Temple, shaking his head.
April 8, 1882.
“Why should you 17“
Ralph Temple laughed-a harsli,un-
pleasant lauwh.
“The good people round here liavcii‘t
a very good o iiiioii o me,’ he s (I.
“They would ie very apt to suspui-t
me, if suspicion caine this way. No, it .
better to hide the box lici'e."
“I wish we could sell the bonds at
nee."
“ Nearly all are registered, and proba-
bly the old ni-an has a record of
so that if we tried to sell
should be brought up '
told
then open negoti
Not iininediai.ely,you know.
keep them lent; enough to make the
owner feel anxious, and willing; to got
them back at any co. ."
“ guess j,'eii're riglit. “'0 must
prudent. If we could only get an
with the whole sum it would make us
comfortable fora year or two."
“ How iinicli is there?”
“Well, there are e “ht thousand dol-
lars in government bonds, and live lfnion
l’aciii bondsof a tliousand dollars cacli.
They‘i , as safe as goveriniuints."
“Thirteen thousand (Iollars 1" said
Temple, in a tone of gr-atiiication.
“Yes, and more, for the bonds are all
at a premium. However, we ninst lay
back for a reivanl. It won't do to nego-
tiate them.“
While this conversation had been go-
ing on, Temple had indicated the spot
which he tlioiiglit suitable, and, with a
spade which he carried, had coiiiincm-oil
excavating a hole siiilicioiitly lar;.-;c for
the purpose.
lle dug to a depth of about eigi-hteen
inches, the box being about viglii iiiclics
in height, and carefully deposited it in
the cavity
Then both carefully replaced a part of
the earth, and carried away the remain-
(lcr to the distaiice of a lniiidrod ilk‘! or
so. Finally they broupght ll. quantity of
leaves, and covered the spot.
‘f Tlicre,” said Temple, with a look of
satis .i(-tion, “ it's safe enough now. It'll
take a smart detective to liiid it, I
reckon.”
“You’re right there, Ralph,“ iid his
companion. “ It would be a liad sort of
joke if we couldn't iind itoiirsvlvcs," he
added, after a pause.
“I can iind it, never you fear!" said
Temple. “I know tl:vsi- woods is well
as anybody, and slian‘t i'or;;i-t tlw spot."
“All the sonic, I wish had soinu of
that money now. I‘iii ulinost dead
k .
ho
. V
I‘ .
“ So am I; but I can lct voii have
enough to get back to the cit,v.l’
“And siippusc," said Vernon, with an
uneasy look, “you should take a fancv
to remove that box “lllltt I am aw 1"’.
“ Doii’t bealraid. Ralph 'I‘cinplc isn't
that kind of a man. lle‘ll st:uid bv his
pard, and treat him fair." i
“ t would be a rough trick to play on
me, ltzilpli,” said Vernon, ‘lllllulttlllly
not quite iree i'roiii iincusiin s.
“ cit would; but there o dangor.
livcii if I did, couldn't you expo, -, the
whole thing, and have me arrested '2"
“ So I could," rcturiicd Vernon. more
ircd by this 0 'l<-ratioii than by
laitli in Tcni )1 s it tlldillllg.
“Well, ifyon‘rc all real v, we lll1lV:ix‘
we-ll vanish. You can sl ' ’ i
i llllzllly ‘-“H1 go to the city in the inoriiinu.
iey
l l
l
Watch the papers, and sec if tlici-c l.
iiytl 17' nit proinisesadvzintagetous."
“All right 2" ‘
The two men inovcd oil", iniich to lIar-
ry's relief. lie was in iiioim-,iitai'ydi-cad
oi a sneeze, and this would have ill‘-
‘lyL‘(I his whereabouts to Tuniple and
his partner.
What these two desperate men would
have done to him, had they discoveriul
: v to gin-s ; lint, un-
liiin, it was not is .
dcr the iiilliieiicc, oi‘ vexation and 2ll:lI'IIl,
iavc hrou-,-;lit upon him
worse trouble than any he had vet ex-
periciieezl. ‘
SW31‘. llltltu-Il, was likclv, froni wl it
ic kiicw ol' ltzilpli ’l‘i>iiiple. llc “
generally LUllSill(‘l'l‘(l Il ilisic it.ihlc (-I .i-
ra tor, and the villzigt swerc igiioraiit
as to how he made his li ntg. ‘
l<‘roin time to time he oaniv to the vil-
but
Soiiuftiiiios he <lis:ippc:ii‘vil fora wcl-k or
lortni;.:ht at a time, but “-i,,.,,<,. in, “-.mi,
to the city, no mic ltIll‘“'.
. "T." L'Unjvctiii'ml, from what he had
Just sccn, that Tciuplc w..-i in luagiili
with wicked men in the city, with whom
X
‘-%‘a .21
l