"I couldn't sleep if he were in the house," she said.
"Why not?" asked Luke. "You see he is securely bound, and will be as helpless as a child. Will you show me the attic?"
"Follow me," said the farmer.
They went up two flights of stairs, and found themselves in a long room, the whole width of the house. Through the centre rose the chimney. The sloping roof was not plastered. The only furniture consisted of a cot-bedstead and a chair.
"Is the attic occupied by any of the family?" asked Luke.
"Not generally. When I hire an extra hand at harvest-time he sleeps there."
"But at present there is no one occupying it?"
"No."
"Then I suggest that the bed will prove a good resting-place for our friend below. I have no doubt he has often found himself in lodgings less comfortable."
"But," said Mrs. Mason, nervously, "if he should get free during the night he might murder us all in our beds."