Bob said it was a bargain, and the two boys shook hands on it; after which they again turned their attention to the ferryman, who kept up his soliloquy while he was loading the wood on the wagon. The burden of it was that his lot in life was a very hard one, that he never worked except under protest, and that he firmly believed that the future had something better in store for him.
Tom and his companion went home, fully determined that if they lived to see the dawn of another day, Silas should find the wished-for letter in his wood-pile.
They took one night to "sleep on it," and make up their minds just what they wanted to say to him, and bright and early the next morning they went to work.
By their united efforts they finally produced the letter which we laid before the reader in the third chapter; but they were a long time about it. Every sentence and suggestion had to be weighed and discussed at length, and it was when Tom remarked that he would like to see the upshot of the whole matter, that a bright idea suddenly occurred to Bob.
"We can stay up there to-morrow, and see what he will do when he finds the letter," observed the latter, "but we can't run to the top of the Summerdale hills every day to watch him go after the money, can we? It's too far, and— Say, Tom, let's ask Uncle Hallet to make us his game-wardens."
"Oh, let's!" exclaimed Tom, who was always ready for anything that had a spice of novelty or adventure in it. "Of course, we shall have to live up there in the woods, the same as Mr. Warren's man does."
"To-be-sure. Then we shall be right on the ground, and it will be but little trouble for us to keep track of Morgan's movements. If he tries to find the cave, we may be on hand to give him a scare."
"Well, that's a black horse of another color," said Tom, looking down at the floor, in a deep study. "Silas Morgan never goes into the woods without his double-barrel for company, and he is so sure a shot that I don't think it would be quite safe for the spectre of the cave to materialize while he is around."
Bob hadn't thought of that before, nor did he stop to think of it now, because it was a matter that could be settled at some future time. It was enough for him to know that Tom was strongly in favor of the rest of his scheme, and the two posted off to find Uncle Hallet, and see what he thought about it.