“Are you afraid of a boy?”
“I am a man of peace. I don’t want to get into any difficulty.”
“I suppose you wonder that I am sitting here while others are at work.”
“Well, it did cross my mind.”
“My spine is affected. I look well, but I cannot walk. I hope to be better after a while, but at present I am comparatively helpless.”
“Can’t I help you?”
“You may go into the cabin, and bring me a bottle of medicine which you will find in the cupboard.”
Burns entered the cabin gladly. It occurred to him that he might find something worth taking.
On the wall, hanging from a nail, was a gold watch. It was too good a chance to be lost. It might or it might not be valuable, but at any rate it was worth something.
So, while securing the bottle, Burns slyly possessed himself of the watch, which he slipped into his inside breast pocket.