Hardly able to repress an exclamation of triumph, Arthur picked up his valise, which he had placed at the foot of his bed, unlocked the door and passed through the hall into the office.
Feeling his way to the safe, he put the key into the lock, turned the knob, and the door opened for him.
“It’s all mine,” thought he, as he opened his valise and proceeded to stow the greenbacks away in it. “If father wants to stay here, and run the risk of being hanged, he can do it and welcome; but I’m off for Bolton, this very—”
All on a sudden, the door of the office creaked on its hinges, and the room was brilliantly illuminated. With a piercing cry of terror, Arthur looked over his shoulder and saw his father standing behind him, holding a lamp in one hand and a big revolver in the other.
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE LISTENER IN THE GROVE.
It is hard to tell which was the more astonished by this unexpected encounter—the father, who having been aroused from uneasy slumber by the stealthy closing of his bedroom door, and growing alarmed for the safety of the large amount of money in his possession, had aroused himself and come into the office to make sure that everything was right there, or the son, who had so suddenly been interrupted in the very act of robbing the safe.
The two looked at each other for a moment in silence, and then Arthur put back the package of greenbacks he had been on the point of stowing away in his valise, while Uncle Bob placed the lamp on the table and sat down.
“Arthur, what in the world does this mean?” said he, sternly.
“It means that if you hadn’t come in here just as you did, I should have been miles on my way toward Dixon Springs by this time to-morrow,” replied the son, rising to his feet and boldly confronting his father.
“And did you intend to rob me?”