m."

"Well?"

"Next, as soon as he was asleep, I went into his room in my
stocking-feet, and closed all the solid wooden shutters, to make him
believe it is still night when he does awake and feel drowsy, as he will
be sure to feel, so that he shall go to sleep again, and sleep until
evening, and that will give you nearly twenty-four hours start of him."

"Right! Quite right," said Mr. Berners.

"Well, well; but go on, dear Bob," impatiently murmured Sybil.

"I locked his door on the outside, and took away the key, to make the
farmer or any of the family, if they should go into his room to see why
he slept so long, think that he had locked himself in. For the rest I
shall stay here and pretend to sleep very late myself. In fact I shall
sleep until they wake me up, and then I shall be very angry, and tell
them they had better not play that game on Mr. Purley, as he would be in
a fury if his rest should be broken. And so I will guard these two rooms
from intrusion, and your escape from being discovered, as long as I
possibly can."

"But when it shall be discovered, my poor fellow, will you not get
yourself into trouble?" inquired Lyon.

"Even if I should, what will my trouble be to this lady's? But at worst
I shall only be cussed by old Purley, and turned out of my place by the
sheriff; and as I'm used to being cussed, and don't like my place, it
don't matter."

"And in any case, you shall be well rewarded, dear Bob. Not that such a
service as you are about to render us _can_ ever be adequately rewarded;
but, as far as--"

"Oh, dear Madam, don't speak of reward! I owe you a debt of gratitude,
which I am glad to pay. I have told you what I _have_ done, and what I
shall do, to relieve you of anxiety; and now we had better quietly leave
the house. Are you ready?" inquired Munson.

"We have been quite ready for these two hours, in anticipation of your
help."

"Come, then; but come very silently, though there is not the slightest
danger, either, of our being heard. The farmer is a beer swiller, and
sleeps heavily, and his women folks all sleep up in the garret. I saw
them all go up myself; they passed with their candle, as I lay on the
pallet," whispered Munson, as he quietly led the way out into the hall
and softly closed and locked the door, and withdrew the key.

"It is just as well to do this, to guard against the chance of any one
opening the door while I am gone," he added, as he softly preceded the
party