The Boy Trapper | Page 4

supper, and while the boy
was gone he went to the hiding-place and put back the ammunition and
money just as he found them, believing that when Dan returned he
would put the three dollars and a half there too. Nor was he mistaken.
The boy presently came back with squirrels enough for supper, and as
soon as he thought he could do so without being seen by any one, he
went to his storehouse, and having made sure that the property he had
already hidden there was safe, he added to it the sum he had received
for the quarter of beef, and went away happy. His father was happy too
for he had seen the whole operation.
Godfrey was too tired to dig for the buried treasure that night, so Dan
went to bed as soon as it was fairly dark. His father waited until he was
soundly asleep, and then went to the storehouse and took out all it
contained. Dan's rage when he discovered his loss the next morning
was something to wonder at. He knew where his property was, and he
demanded its immediate return, threatening in case of refusal, to tell
General Gordon about the barrel in the potato-field. This frightened
Godfrey, who gave up the contents of his pockets, but not until he had
forced Dan to tell him where he obtained the money he had seen in his
hands at the landing the day before. He was astonished when he learned
that it came from Bert Gordon, and set his wits at work to conjure up
some plan, by which he might obtain possession of the rest. He went
over to the General's at once, and there learned that Don and Bert had

gone down to the landing with their father, where they were awaiting
the arrival of two cousins, whom they were expecting from the North.
Godfrey followed them there with all haste, sought an interview with
Don, and by telling him some plausible story, induced him to advance
the other five dollars. Godfrey hoped in this way to get the start of Dan
and enjoy his ill-gotten gains all by himself, but Dan was there and saw
it all, and his father, alarmed by the look he saw on his face, divided the
money with him. Of course David knew nothing of this. He was saving
those ten dollars for his mother. He did not expect to spend a cent of it
on himself; and how he first learned of his loss and what was done
about it, perhaps we shall see as our story progresses.
The two young gentlemen, Clarence and Marshall Gordon, for whom
Don and Bert were waiting, and who landed from the steamer, Emma
Deane, that morning, had been sent away from the city by their father,
in order that they might be out of the way of temptation; but, as it
happened, one of them ran directly into it. Clarence, the older, was
anything but a model boy. He was much addicted to ale and cigars, and
thought of nothing in the world so much as money. He was a
spendthrift, and, like Godfrey Evans, had a great desire to be rich, but
he never thought of working and saving in order to gain the wished-for
end. This good old-fashioned and safe way was too long and tedious
for him, and he was constantly on the lookout for a short road to wealth
and consequent happiness. Before he had been twenty-four hours under
his uncle's roof, he thought he had discovered it, and this was the way it
came about:
Clarence and his brother arrived at the General's house in the forenoon,
and before night came, the former wished most heartily that he had
stayed at home. He was lonely and utterly disgusted with the quiet of
the country, and the old-fashioned, prosy way his two cousins had of
enjoying themselves. Music, horseback-riding, hunting, fishing and
visiting made up the round of their amusements, and Clarence could
see no fun in such things. As soon as it grew dark he slipped out of the
house, and leaning over a fence that ran between the barnyard and a
potato-patch, lighted a cigar and settled into a comfortable position to
enjoy it. He had not been there many minutes, before he was startled by

the stealthy approach of two persons, a man and a boy, who stopped a
short distance from him and began digging with a shovel. Clarence
listened to the words which the man uttered for the encouragement of
the boy, who was doing the work, and was amazed to learn that there
was a fortune hidden in that field, and that these two had come there to
dig it up. In his eagerness and excitement Clarence