Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Heroes -- Juvenile fiction; Orphans -- Juvenile fiction; Shipwrecks -- Juvenile fiction
“Got it? Why shouldn’t I get it?”
“Well, open it, and let us see what it contains.”
This Mr. Fox proceeded to do. But no sooner did his glance rest on its
contents than his lower jaw fell, and his eyes opened wide in
perplexity.
“Well, what are you staring at like a fool?” demanded his wife, who
was not so situated that she could see the contents of the pocketbook.
“Look at this, Mrs. F.,” said her husband, in a hollow voice. “There’s
no money here--only this piece of newspaper.”
“Well, well, of all the fools I ever saw you are about the most
stupid!” ejaculated Mrs. Fox. “What you undertake you generally carry
through, do you? After all the fuss you’ve brought down a pocketbook
stuffed with waste paper.”
“I don’t understand it,” said Fox, his face assuming a look of
perplexity. “Surely the boy told the truth when he said he had fifteen
dollars.”
“Of course! Joel saw the money--a roll of bills, and saw him take them
out of his pocketbook. He must have taken them out. Did you search all
his pockets?”
“No; when I found the pocketbook I thought I was all right.”
“Just like a man!” retorted Mrs. Fox. “I’ll go up myself, and see if I
can’t manage better than you.”
“Then you’d better take this wallet, and put it back in his pocket.”
“Give it to me, then.”
With a firm step Mrs. Fox took the candle, and took her turn in going
up the attic stairs.
CHAPTER IV
MRS. FOX COMES TO GRIEF
Harry confidently anticipated a second visit to his chamber.
He was rather surprised when the door was again opened, and Mrs. Fox
entered. Opening his eyes a little way, he saw her, after a brief
glance at the bed, go to the chair containing his pantaloons, and put
back the deceptive wallet. She was about to prosecute a further
search, when Harry decided that matters had gone far enough. He did
not fancy their night visits, and meant to stop them if he could.
Chance favored his design. A puff of air from the door, which Mrs. Fox
had left wide open, extinguished the candle, and left the room, as
there was no moon, in profound darkness.
“Drat the candle!” he heard Mrs. Fox say.
Then a mischievous idea came to Harry. In his native village lived a
man who had passed a considerable time in the wild region beyond the
Missouri River, and had mingled familiarly with the Indians. From him
Harry had learned how to imitate the Indian warwhoop.
“I’ll scare the old lady,” thought Harry, smiling to himself.
Immediately there rang out from the bed, in the darkness and silence,
a terrific warwhoop, given in Harry’s most effective style.
Mrs. Fox was not a nervous woman ordinarily, but she was undeniably
frightened at the unexpected sound.
“Heavens and earth, what’s that?” she ejaculated, and dropping our
hero’s clothes, retreated in disorder, almost stumbling downstairs in
her precipitate flight. Dashing into the chamber where Mr. Fox was
waiting for her, she sank into a chair, gasping for breath.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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