he hurried on to the garden and wheat-field belonging to his
father, and, reaching the far end, he sat down on the ground and took
the box in his lap to examine it at his ease. For a moment he hesitated,
realizing the magnitude of his crime, but only for a moment. He could
not resist his curiosity to see the contents of the box; and, too, if it
were gold, as he felt sure it must be, he intended to take it, for
Juan had long had a great desire to run away to Mexico or Hawaii; but
venturesome as he was, he could not quite bring himself to the point
of carrying it out, for his indolence drew him back at the prospect of
being obliged to work his way.

His hesitation quickly came to an end, and placing the box on the
ground, he found a sharp stone, and began pounding it with quick,
hard blows. Strong as the box was, it could not long withstand such
treatment, and soon it fell apart, broken at the hinges. With a low cry
of surprise, Juan gazed at the glittering coins; then, with feverish
fingers, he took up a handful and examined them carefully, for he had
never seen the Spanish onza, and did not know its value. That it was
gold, however, satisfied him; he would find out its value later, for
at the first sight of it, Juan had jumped at the fact that now he was a
thief, and could not remain at the mission. With lightning speed he made
up his mind to run away, and that very night. Two thousand dollars in
gold is a heavy load for one's pocket, but that was the only way Juan
could carry it, and he quickly transferred it to his two pockets. Not
daring to go into the house, from fear of waking his parents, he set
off, just as he was, for San Pedro, the nearest seaport, a walk of
nearly fifty miles. But the box--he must not leave that lying on the
ground in plain sight! He must take it with him until he could find some
place to hide it, or throw it into the sea. He picked it up, and hurried
off, not noticing the slip of paper, which had fallen out of the box
when it was broken open. Walking all night, Juan found himself, at
daybreak, still far from San Pedro, tired out and hungry. But he knew he
must keep on, if he did not want to be overtaken and captured. We shall
not follow him farther; it is more than certain he will be relieved
of his gold, when he reaches San Pedro, by some friendly sailor or bad
character of the settlement; and he will, after all, have to work his
way to Mexico, for it would be out of the question to return t