And the old gentleman departed chuckling, leaving Eben not quite certain whether he was much pleased or vexed.
Day after day passed by, and still the bell-rope was not altered. It could not be done without making some changes which involved a half day of carpenter's work, and the one Boonville carpenter was a man of consequence, and not to be easily obtained. Jeduthun more than once asked Mr. Antis to let him do the work, declaring that if it were not fixed before the old gentleman came again he would make them all see sights, but Mr. Antis said Jeduthun had enough to do now, and the carpenter had promised to come the first of next week to set glass and do a good many odd jobs, and there was no use in doing his work for him. But a good many things were destined to happen before the first of next week came round.
Eben had had a very fatiguing day, and had gone to bed early, too tired even for the hour's "grind" with Carpenter which he usually permitted himself after returning to his hermitage, as the girls called his room at the mill. It seemed to him that he had only just fallen asleep when he was awakened by some sudden noise below, as he thought at the mill door. He sat up in bed and listened. There was certainly something going on below. He could hear steps, and even whispers, and then some one in the office.
"Oh, that bell-rope!" was his first thought as he sprang to his feet, and striking a light, proceeded to hurry on his clothes. "If it was here at the head of my bed, as it ought to have been, I could have given the alarm by this time, and now, there it hangs by the office door, as much out of my reach as though it were in China. What will the old gentleman say? But I will have a try for it, or at least for the front window, where I can make somebody hear. There would be no use in shouting from this one. If it were summer, I could drop out into the water and take my chance, but the water is too cold now to run the risk. Lord, help me to do what is right!"
All these thoughts passed through Eben's mind in much less time than it has taken to write them down. He opened the door of his room, and was disagreeably met by a hand on his throat which thrust him into a chair, while the owner of the hand, a stout, rough-looking man in a mask, stood over him.
"Now, look here, young man!" said he. "You just keep quiet and answer questions, and I won't hurt you. I know Mr. Antis got a thousand dollars at the bank yesterday. Where is it? Here in the safe or at his house?"
"Here, I suppose," said Eben. He was not certain about the matter, but judged it best to keep on the safe side, and spare Mrs. Antis, who was very delicate, the alarm of a visit from burglars.
"Have you got the keys of the safe?" was the next question. Eben would not answer at first, but in reply to repeated threats, he said, "I'll get them for you, if you'll let me get up."
"No, you don't!" said the robber. "I know a trick worth two of that. Where are they?"
"All my keys are in that little upper drawer," was the answer. "The key to that is in my pocket."