The thief had little difficulty in entering the cabin. No one in the mining settlement thought of locking the outer door or closing the windows. In many cases the door was left ajar; in some cases there were none. It was not necessary, therefore, to become a housebreaker. Entrance then was the least difficulty.
The tramp, however, was not quite easy in his mind. He didn’t care for the two boys, but he glanced with apprehension at the reclining figure of the tall gaunt Yankee, who was thin but wiry, and possessed of more than ordinary physical strength.
“If he should tackle me,” thought the midnight visitor with a shudder, “it would be all up with me. He could shake the life out of me.”
But the stake was a valuable one—it would in all probability make him comfortable for life, if judiciously husbanded—and Obed’s slumber seemed so profound that there appeared to be no risk. Nevertheless the tramp trembled, and his heart was in his mouth as he stealthily got in through the open window, and moved towards the nugget, or what he supposed to be such. He had one eye on Obed as he reached for the bundle. It was with difficulty that he could lift it, so heavy was it, but this only encouraged him, and made his eyes sparkle covetously. The heavier it was, the more valuable it must be. Were it twice as heavy he would be willing to carry it ten miles, enduring cheerfully all the fatigue it might entail. No thought of the rightful owners or of their disappointment disturbed him. That greed of gain which hardens the heart and banishes all scruples held firm dominion over him.
He lifted the bundle, and as noiselessly as he entered he made his egress through the window.
He thought he was unobserved, but he was mistaken.
Harry Vane was usually a heavy sleeper, but the thought of the nugget, even in his sleeping hours, weighed upon him and entered into his dreams. Singularly, he was dreaming at this very moment that it was being stolen, and in the intensity of his excitement all at once he became broad awake, just as the thief was disappearing through the window. With a startled look he glanced toward the place where the false nugget had been placed.
It was gone!
Evidently the thief had been taken in, and the thought amused him so much that he almost unconsciously laughed aloud. The sound fell on the ears of the receding thief, and filled his heart with apprehension, though he fancied it was a sound emitted in sleep. Still, it might precede awakening.
Once out of the window he did not stand upon the order of his going, but fled with a speed remarkable considering the weight of the bundle he carried.