CHAPTER VIII
THE GHOST IN THE ATTIC
After working two hours at the woodpile, Herbert was called in to tea.There was no great variety, Abner Holden not being a bountiful provider.But the bread was sweet and good, and the gingerbread fresh. Herbert'stwo hours of labor had given him a hearty appetite, and he made a goodmeal. Mrs. Bickford looked on approvingly. She was glad to see that ourhero enjoyed his supper.
There was tea on the table, and, after pouring out a cup for Mr. Holden,the housekeeper was about to pour out one for Herbert.
"He don't want any tea," said Abner, noticing the action. "Keep the cupfor yourself, Mrs. Bickford."
"What do you mean, Mr. Holden?" asked the housekeeper, in surprise.
"Tea isn't good for a growing boy. A glass of cold water will be bestfor him."
"I don't agree with you, Mr. Holden," said the housekeeper, decidedly."Herbert has been hard at work, and needs his tea as much as you or Ido."
Therefore, without waiting for his permission, she handed the cup toHerbert, who proceeded to taste it.
Abner Holden frowned, but neither Herbert nor the housekeeper took muchnotice of it. The latter was somewhat surprised at this new freak onthe part of Abner, as he had never tried to deprive any of Herbert'spredecessors of tea or coffee. But the fact was, Mr. Holden dislikedHerbert, and was disposed to act the petty tyrant over him. He hadneither forgotten nor forgiven the boy's spirited defiance when theyfirst met, nor his refusal to surrender into his hands the five dollarswhich the doctor had given him.
Feeling tired by eight o'clock, Herbert went up to his garret room andundressed himself. An instinct of caution led him to take out the moneyin his porte-monnaie, and put it in his trunk, which he then locked, andput the key under the sheet, so that no one could get hold of it withoutawakening him. This precaution proved to be well taken.
Herbert lay down upon the bed, but did not immediately go to sleep. Hecould not help thinking of his new home, and the new circumstancesin which he was placed. He did not feel very well contented, and feltconvinced from what he had already seen of Mr. Holden, that he shouldnever like him. Then thoughts of his mother, and of her constant andtender love, and the kind face he would never more see on earth, sweptover him, and almost unmanned him. To have had her still alive he wouldhave been content to live on dry bread and water.
He thought, too, of the doctor's family and their kindness. Howdifferent it would have been if he might have continued to find ahome with them! But when he was tempted to repine, the thought of hismother's Christian instructions came to him, and he was comforted by thereflection, that whatever happened to him was with the knowledge of hisFather in heaven, who would not try him above his strength.
Try and trust! That was almost the last advice his mother had given him,as the surest way of winning the best success.
"Yes," he thought, "I will try and trust, and leave the rest with God."
Meanwhile Mr. Holden had not been able to keep out of his head the fivedollars which he knew Herbert possessed. He was a mean man, and wishedto appropriate it to his own use. Besides this, he was a stubborn man,and our hero's resistance only made him the more determined to triumphover his opposition by fair means or foul. It struck him that it wouldbe a good idea to take advantage of our hero's slumber, and take themoney quietly from his pocketbook while he was unconscious.
Accordingly, about eleven o'clock, he went softly up the attic stairswith a candle in his hand, and, with noiseless steps, approached thebed. Herbert's regular breathing assured him that he was asleep. AbnerHolden took up his pants and felt for his pocketbook. He found it, anddrew it out with exultation.
"Aha!" he thought; "I've got it."
But this brief exultation was succeeded by quick disappointment. Thepocketbook proved to be quite empty.
"Curse it!" muttered Abner, "what has the boy done with his money?"
It was at this moment that Herbert, his eyes possibly affected by thelight, awoke, and he discovered his employer examining his pocketbook.
His first feeling was indignation, but the sight of Abner Holden'sdisappointed face amused him, and he determined not to reveal hiswakefulness, but to watch, him quietly.
"Perhaps he's got two pocketbooks," thought Abner. But in this he wasmistaken.
Next he went to Herbert's trunk, and tried it, but found it locked.
"I wonder where he keeps the key," was his next thought.
He searched Herbert's pockets, but the search was in vain.
"Plague take the young rascal!" he muttered, loud enough for Herbert tohear.
Herbert turned in bed, and Abner Holden, fearing that he might wake up,and being on the whole, rather ashamed of his errand, and unwilling tobe caught in it, went downstairs.
"Well, he didn't make much," thought our hero. "It's lucky I thoughtto put the money in my trunk. If he only knew I had fifteen dollars,instead of five, he would be all the more anxious to get hold of it."
"How did you sleep last night, Herbert?" inquired the housekeeper atbreakfast.
"Very well, thank you, Mrs. Bickford."
He was resolved not to drop a hint of what had happened, being curiousto see if Mr. Holden would make any further attempts to obtain hismoney. As his employer might possibly find a key that would unlock thetrunk, he thought it prudent, during the day, to carry the money aboutwith him.
He hardly knew whether to expect a visit from Abner the next night, butformed a little plan for frightening him if such a visit should takeplace.
It so happened that he had in his trunk a fish horn which had beengiven him by someone in Waverley. This he took out of the trunk beforeretiring and hid it under his pillow. It was about nine o'clock when hewent to bed, but by considerable effort he succeeded in keeping awakefor an hour or two.
About eleven o'clock, Abner Holden, before going to bed himself, decidedto make one more attempt to obtain possession of Herbert's money. Hereflected that possibly our hero had only put away his money by chanceon the previous evening, and might have neglected to do so on thepresent occasion. He desired to get possession of it before any part ofit was spent, as, judging from what he knew of boys, it would not remainlong unexpended.
Once more, therefore, he took his candle, and removing his thick-soledshoes, which might betray him by their sound, crept softly up the steepand narrow staircase.
But Herbert heard him, and moreover was warned of his visit by the lightof the candle which he carried. He closed his eyes, and awaited hiscoming in silent expectation.
Abner Holden looked towards the bed. Herbert's eyes were closed, and hisbreathing was deep and regular.
"He's sound asleep," thought Abner, with satisfaction.
He set down the candle on a chair beside the bed, and began to examineour hero's pocketbook once more. But it proved to be empty as before.In the pocketbook, however, he found a key, the key, as he supposed, toHerbert's trunk. It was not, however, being only a key which Herbert hadpicked up one day in the street, and kept. He had put it in his pocketwith a view to mislead his employer.
That gentleman uttered a low exclamation of satisfaction when hisfingers closed upon the key, never doubting for a moment that it wouldopen the trunk.
Leaving the candle in its place, he rose from his recumbent position,threw the pants on the bed, and went round on the other side, to try thekey.
He got down on his knees before the trunk, and had inserted the keyin the lock, or rather had made an ineffectual attempt to do so, whensuddenly the candle was extinguished, and a horrible blast on the fishhorn resounded through the garret.
Now, Abner Holden was not a very courageous man. In fact, he wasinclined to superstition. He knew that he was engaged in a dishonorableattempt to rob a boy who was placed in his charge, and there is anold proverb that says "conscience makes cowards of us all." It mustbe admitted that it was rather calculated to affect the nerves to findone's self suddenly in the dark, and at the same time to hear such afearful noise procee
ding from an unknown quarter.
Abner Holden jumped to his feet in dire dismay, and, without stopping toreflect on the probable cause of this startling interruption, "strucka bee line" for the staircase, and descended quicker, probably, than hehad ever done before, narrowly escaping tumbling the entire distance, inhis headlong haste.
Herbert had to stuff the bedclothes into his mouth to keep from burstinginto a shout of laughter, which would have revealed his agency inproducing the mysterious noise.
"I thought I heard a frightful noise last night soon after I went tobed," said Mrs. Bickford, at the breakfast table. "Didn't you hearanything, Mr. Holden?"
"No," said Abner, "I heard nothing. You were probably dreaming."
"Perhaps I was. Didn't you hear anything, Herbert?"
"I sleep pretty sound," said Herbert, quietly.
Abner Holden watched him as he said this, and was evidently moreperplexed than ever. But that was the last visit he paid to the garretat night.
Try and Trust; Or, Abner Holden's Bound Boy Page 8