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Mary Jane? No- I dasn't do it. Her face would give them a hint,
sure; they've got the money, and they'd slide right out and get away
with it. If she was to fetch in help, I'd get mixed up in the business,
before it was done with, I judge. No, there ain't no good way but
one. I got to steal that money, somehow; and I got to steal it some
way that they won't suspicion that I done it. They've got a good
thing, here; and they ain't agoing to leave till they've played this
family and this town for all they're worth, so I'll find a chance time
enough. I'll steal it, and hide it; and by-and-by, when I'm away
down the river, I'll write a letter and tell Mary Jane where it's hid.
But I better hive it to-night, if I can, because the doctor maybe
hasn't let up as much as he lets on he has; he might scare them out
of here, yet.
So, thinks I, I'll go and search them rooms. Up stairs the hall
was dark, but I found the duke's room, and started to paw around it
with my hands; but I recollected it wouldn't be much like the king
to let anybody else take care of that money but his own self; so
then I went to his room and begun to paw around there. But I see I
couldn't do nothing without a candle, and I dasn't light one, of
course. So I judged I'd got to do the other thing- lay for them and
eavesdrop. About that time, I hears their footsteps coming and was
going to skip under the bed; I reached for it, but it wasn't where I
thought it would be; but I touched the curtain that hid Mary Jane's
frocks, so I jumped in behind that and snuggled in amongst the
gowns, and stood there perfectly still.
They come in and shut the door; and the first thing the duke
done was to get down and look under the bed. Then I was glad I
hadn't found the bed when I wanted it. And yet, you know, it's kind
of natural to hide under the bed when you are up to anything
private. They sets down, then, and the king says:
"Well, what is it? and cut it middlin' short, because it's better for
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us to be down there a whoopin'-up the mournin', than up here
givin' 'em a chance to talk us over."
"Well, this is it, Capet. I ain't easy; I ain't comfortable. That
doctor lays on my mind. I wanted to know your plans. I've got a
notion, and I think it's a sound one."
"What is it, duke?"
"That we better glide out of this, before three in the morning,
and clip it down the river with what we've got. Specially, seeing
we got it so easy- given back to us, flung at our heads, as you may
say, when of course we allowed to have to steal it back. I'm for
knocking off and lighting out."
That made me feel pretty bad. About an hour or two ago, it
would a been a little different, but now it made me feel bad and
disappointed. The king rips out and says:
"What! And not sell out the rest o' the property? March off like a
passel o' fools and leave eight or nine thous'n' dollars' worth o'
property layin' around jest sufferin' to be scooped in?- and all good
salable stuff, too."
The duke he grumbled; said the bag of gold was enough, and he
didn't want to go no deeper- didn't want to rob a lot of orphans of
everything they had.
"Why, how you talk!" says the king. "We shan't rob 'em of
nothing at all but jest this money. The people that buys the
property is the suff'rers; because as soon's it's found out 'at we
didn't own it- which won't be long after we've slid- the sale won't
be valid, and it'll all go back to the estate. These-yer orphans'll git
their house back agin, and that's enough for them; they're young
and spry, and k'n easy earn a livin'. They ain't agoing to suffer.
Why, jest think- there's thous'n's and thous'n's that ain't nigh so
well off. Bless you, they ain't got noth'n to complain of."
Well, the king he talked him blind; so at last he give in, and said
all right, but said he believed it was blame foolishness to stay, and
that doctor hanging over them. But the king says:
"Cuss the doctor! What do we k'yer for him? Hain't we got all
the fools in town on our side? and ain't that a big enough majority
in any town?"
So they got ready to go down stairs again. The duke says:
"I don't think we put that money in a good place."
That cheered me up. I'd begun to think I warn't going to get a
hint of no kind to help me. The king says:
"Because Mary Jane'll be in mourning from this out; and first
you know the nigger that does up the rooms will get an order to
box these duds up and put 'em away; and do you reckon a nigger
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