overcome by the lassitude
enduring an empty day had caused, turned into sleep, the wood fire, left
to itself, crumbled into a heap of ashes. The guarding of Stranleigh
became more perfunctory as time passed. He proved to be a model
prisoner, and usually the sentinel at the door fell into peaceful
slumber as night wore on. On the particular evening Stranleigh chose for
his attempt, Jim Dean sat on the chair against the door. Jim's jaw
worked so much during the day, he talked so incessantly, emptying his
mind of all it contained, that he was naturally exhausted when his turn
for watching came. Each of the men slumbered more or less soundly at his
post, but the confident Jim outdid them all, so Stranleigh selected him
as the man destined to hold the empty bag.

It was two hours after midnight when his lordship slipped down from his
bunk. The fire had long since gone out, and the stone chimney was
reasonably cool. The climbing of that ample flue presented no difficulty
to an athletic young man who in his time had ascended the Matterhorn.
The inside of the chimney offered to the amateur sweep walls of rough
stone, which projected here and there, forming an effective, if unequal
ladder. He attained the top with such ease that he wondered he had
remained so long a prisoner. Descending the roof silently, he let
himself down to the top of the lean-to which acted as kitchen and supply
store, and dropped from that elevation lightly to the ground. It was a
night of clear moonlight, and Stranleigh smiled to think how nearly he
must represent the popular idea of the devil, covered as he was with
soot from head to foot.

He made directly down the hill to the farm house by the stream, and
risked a few minutes of time in washing his face in the rapid current.
He now took off his boots, the better to enact the part of burglar. The
doors of the house, he knew, were never locked. First he secured his
favourite magazine rifle and a large quantity of cartridges, then as,
after all, he was entitled to the board he paid for, he penetrated
softly to the kitchen. Here he secured a couple of loaves of bread and a
cooked ham, together with some other things he wanted, including a
supply of tobacco, and thus overloaded as he had rarely been in his life
before, he stole softly outside, slipped his feet into his boots, and
slowly climbed the hill to the silver cavern. Depositing within his
goods and chattels, he examined his store carefully to learn