Next, opening the window, he stepped out upon the sloping roof of the ell part, and slid down to the end where he jumped off, the height not being more than four feet from the ground. By some accident, a tub of suds was standing under the eaves, and Ben, much to his disgust, jumped into it.
“Whew!” exclaimed he, “I've jumped into that plaguy tub. What possessed Hannah to put it in a fellow's way?”
At this moment the back door opened, and Hannah called out, in a shrill voice, “Who's there?” Ben hastily hid himself, and thought it best not to answer.
“I guess 'twas the cat,” said Hannah, as she closed the door.
“A two-legged cat,” thought Ben, to himself; “thunder, what sopping wet feet I've got. Well, it can't be helped.”
With the sheet still under his arm, Ben climbed a fence and running across the fields reached the fork of the road. Here he concealed himself under a hedge, and waited silently till the opportunity for playing his practical joke arrived.
I regret to say that Mr. Mudge, with whom we have already had considerable to do, was not a member of the temperance society. Latterly, influenced perhaps by Mrs. Mudge's tongue, which made his home far from a happy one, he had got into the habit of spending his evenings at the tavern in the village, where he occasionally indulged in potations that were not good for him. Generally, he kept within the bounds of moderation, but occasionally he exceeded these, as he had done on the present occasion.
Some fifteen minutes after Ben had taken his station, he saw, in the moonlight, Mr. Mudge coming up the road, on his way home. Judging from his zigzag course, he was not quite himself.
Ben waited till Mr. Mudge was close at hand, when all at once he started from his place of concealment completely enveloped in the sheet with which he was provided. He stood motionless before the astounded Mudge.
“Who are you?” exclaimed Mudge, his knees knocking together in terror, clinging to an overhanging branch for support.