“That looks good to me,” remarked Amos, immediately.
“It is the best we can do,” said the peasant, as he set the candle down, and bowing humbly backed toward the stairs, letting down the trap after he had vanished.
“Why, we’ve got the whole upper part of the place to ourselves,” observed Amos, as he looked curiously about him. “Seems like our attic at home, come to think of it. Only I certainly hope there are not so many rats prowling around as we’ve had to fight there. I’d hate to have one nibble at my nose while I slumbered so sweetly on that bouncing feather bed.”
“I suppose they have a small sleeping-place downstairs,” remarked Jack, reflectively. “I wonder why they didn’t put us in there instead of up here. Not that I object to this, for it’s just fine; and that patter of the rain on the roof will lull us to sleep, I reckon. Still, I suppose they didn’t want to bother with us down there; or they may have had some other good reason.”
“For one I want to forget everything but that I’m as sleepy as they make them,” and by the way Amos yawned as he said this there could be no doubt that he meant every word of it.
They took off only their shoes and coats, for it was quite cool in the room under the roof.
“Last in bed puts out the candle!” chuckled Amos, as he crawled under the covers.
Jack performed this ceremony, and followed the other. He could not help noticing that little streamers of faint light managed to find their way up from below in certain places. This told him there were cracks in the floor of the loft, a fact that did not surprise him in the least.
Amos was as good as his boast, it seemed. He had said he would be fast asleep about as soon as his head struck the pillow. It was not long before Jack knew from his even breathing that he had fulfilled his threat.
Jack somehow seemed to lose his drowsy feeling after lying down, as often happens to some persons, so that they are inclined to take the first nap sitting in a chair. He found his mind becoming more active than he liked. It seemed as though all kinds of things began to flit through his brain, including the mystery surrounding the old couple downstairs.