the other hand, it would seem to be up to the unemployed
to take measures for their own survival. And
apparently the only proof of their fitness would be
to get some money away from those who had it.
Had not Herbert Spencer, the authority in such matters,
stated that “inability to catch prey shows a
falling short of conduct from its ideal”?
And if the good people let themselves be starved to
death by the wicked, would that not mean that only
the wicked would be left alive? It was thoughts
like this that were driving Samuel—he had
Bertie Lockman’s taunts ringing in his ears,
and for the life of him he could not see why he should
vacate the earth in favor of Bertie Lockman!
So breakfast time passed, and dinner time passed,
and supper time came. And his friend spread out
the contents of his larder again, and then leaned
over the table and said, “Come and try it once
and see how you like it!”
And Samuel clenched his hands suddenly and answered—“All
right, I’ll try it!”
Then he started upon a meal. But in the middle
of it he stopped, and set down an untasted cracker,
and gasped within himself—“Merciful
Heaven! I’ve promised to be a burglar!”
The other was watching him narrowly. “Ain’t
going to back out?” he asked.
“No,” said Samuel. “I won’t
back out! But it seems a little queer, that’s
all.”
The meal over, Charlie Swift took out a pencil and
paper. “Now,” said he. “To
business!”
Samuel pulled up his chair and the other drew a square.
“This is a house I’ve been studying.
It’s on a corner—these are streets,
and here’s an alley. This is the side door
that I think I can open. There’s a door
here and one in back here. Fix all that in your
mind.”
“I have it,” said the boy.
“You go in, and here’s the entrance hall.
The front stairs are here. What I’m after
is the family plate, and it’s up on the second
floor. I’ll attend to that. The only
trouble is that over here beyond the library there’s
a door, and, somebody sleeps in that room. I don’t
know who it is. But I want you to stay in the
hall, and if there’s anyone stirs in that room
you’re to dart upstairs and give one whistle
at the top. Then I’ll come.”
“And what then?”
“This is the second floor,” said Charlie,
drawing another square. “And here’s
the servant’s stairway, and we can get down to
this entrance in the rear, that I’ll open before
I set to work. On the other hand, if you hear
me whistle upstairs, then you’re to get out by
the way we came. If there’s any alarm given,
then it’s each for himself.”
“I see,” said Samuel; and gripped his
hands so that his companion might not see how he was
quaking.
Charlie got out his kit and examined it to make sure
that the police had kept nothing. Then he went
to a bureau drawer and got a revolver, examined it
and slipped it into his pocket. “They kept
my best one,” he said. “So I’ve
none to lend you.”
