The Box Of Robbers (1)

THE BOX OF ROBBERS

No one intended to leave Martha alone that afternoon, butit happened that everyone was called away, for one reason or another. Mrs.McFarland was attending the weekly card party held by the Women’s Anti-GamblingLeague. Sister Nell’s young man had called quite unexpectedly to take her for along drive. Papa was at the office, as usual. It was Mary Ann’s day out. As forEmeline, she certainly should have stayed in the house and looked after thelittle girl; but Emeline had a restless nature.

“Would you mind, miss, if I just crossed the alley to speaka word to Mrs. Carleton’s girl?” she asked Martha.

“’Course not,” replied the child. “You’d better lock theback door, though, and take the key, for I shall be upstairs.”

“Oh, I’ll do that, of course, miss,” said the delightedmaid, and ran away to spend the afternoon with her friend, leaving Martha quitealone in the big house, and locked in, into the bargain.

The little girl read a few pages in her new book, sewed afew stitches in her embroidery and started to “play visiting” with her fourfavorite dolls. Then she remembered that in the attic was a doll’s playhousethat hadn’t been used for months, so she decided she would dust it and put itin order.

Filled with this idea, the girl climbed the winding stairsto the big room under the roof. It was well lighted by three dormer windows andwas warm and pleasant. Around the walls were rows of boxes and trunks, piles ofold carpeting, pieces of damaged furniture, bundles of discarded clothing andother odds and ends of more or less value. Every well-regulated house has anattic of this sort, so I need not describe it.

The doll’s house had been moved, but after a search Marthafound it away over in a corner near the big chimney.

She drew it out and noticed that behind it was a blackwooden chest which Uncle Walter had sent over from Italy years and yearsago—before Martha was born, in fact. Mamma had told her about it one day; howthere was no key to it, because Uncle Walter wished it to remain unopened untilhe returned home; and how this wandering uncle, who was a mighty hunter, hadgone into Africa to hunt elephants and had never been heard from afterwards.

The little girl looked at the chest curiously, now that ithad by accident attracted her attention.

It was quite big—bigger even than mamma’s travelingtrunk—and was studded all over with tarnished brassheaded nails. It was heavy,too, for when Martha tried to lift one end of it she found she could not stirit a bit. But there was a place in the side of the cover for a key. She stoopedto examine the lock, and saw that it would take a rather big key to open it.

Then, as you may suspect, the little girl longed to openUncle Walter’s big box and see what was in it. For we are all curious, andlittle girls are just as curious as the rest of us.

“I don’t b’lieve Uncle Walter’ll ever come back,” shethought. “Papa said once that some elephant must have killed him. If I only hada key—” She stopped and clapped her little hands together gayly as sheremembered a big basket of keys on the shelf in the linen closet. They were ofall sorts and sizes; perhaps one of them would unlock the mysterious chest!

She flew down the stairs, found the basket and returnedwith it to the attic. Then she sat down before the brass-studded box and begantrying one key after another in the curious old lock. Some were too large, butmost were too small. One would go into the lock but would not turn; anotherstuck so fast that she feared for a time that she would never get it out again.But at last, when the basket was almost empty, an oddly-shaped, ancient brasskey slipped easily into the lock. With a cry of joy Martha turned the key withboth hands; then she heard a sharp “click,” and the next moment the heavy lidflew up of its own accord!

The little girl leaned over the edge of the chest aninstant, and the sight that met her eyes caused her to start back in amazement.

Slowly and carefully a man unpacked himself from the chest,stepped out upon the floor, stretched his limbs and then took off his hat andbowed politely to the astonished child.

He was tall and thin and his face seemed badly tanned orsunburnt.

Then another man emerged from the chest, yawning andrubbing his eyes like a sleepy schoolboy. He was of middle size and his skinseemed as badly tanned as that of the first.

While Martha stared open-mouthed at the remarkable sight athird man crawled from the chest. He had the same complexion as his fellows,but was short and fat.

All three were dressed in a curious manner. They wore shortjackets of red velvet braided with gold, and knee breeches of sky-blue satinwith silver buttons. Over their stockings were laced wide ribbons of red andyellow and blue, while their hats had broad brims with high, peaked crowns,from which fluttered yards of bright-colored ribbons.

They had big gold rings in their ears and rows of knivesand pistols in their belts. Their eyes were black and glittering and they worelong, fierce mustaches, curling at the ends like a pig’s tail.

“My! but you were heavy,” exclaimed the fat one, when hehad pulled down his velvet jacket and brushed the dust from his sky-bluebreeches. “And you squeezed me all out of shape.”

“It was unavoidable, Luigi,” responded the thin man,lightly; “the lid of the chest pressed me down upon you. Yet I tender you myregrets.”