Will was about to follow the stream, but Henry called out to him, “Don’t go there, Will, for the ground is too soft after the rain. Besides, we must be careful; the demon may be prowling around; and he might see us. Let us follow this steep bank for a little way, and then we shall find a path leading right up to the top of it.”
It was a desert place, far from any habitation—a wilderness within sight of a town. High above them rose an almost perpendicular bank, of earth, not rock; while directly opposite rose a similar bank, nearly as high. Between these lay the pasture-land. Will and Henry were sensible of the desolation of the place; it fired their enthusiasm, and warmed their blood; and they peered into the shadows as though they imagined a whole band of demons lurked near, ready to spring upon them.
If they should be attacked, as Henry seemed to fear, so far from help, his pistols and pocket-knives would be frail weapons of defence.
They soon reached the path leading upwards, and began to ascend.
[170]
“Henry, wouldn’t it be better to go boldly up to the door of the cave, and knock?” Will asked. “Surely, the demon would let us in, and show us around; and if he should, of course, he would let us out again.”
“No, Will; that wouldn’t do at all. The demon never lets any one into his cave; and as I told you, the story runs that whoever he takes in never gets out again. If we should knock at his door he would be on his guard, and I doubt whether we should be able to get in at all. Besides, it wouldn’t be poetical to get in that way. No; we must entice him out, and then rush in like a whirlwind.”
“But how are we to get out again?”
“Now, Will, I don’t mean you when I say it; but that is a coward’s thought. I never troubled myself about that—in fact, I never let such an idea come into my head. If we had wanted to get in that way, we should have stayed down in the valley. By going around on the top of the hill, as we are, we can lay a trap that the demon will certainly fall into. You see, Will, if we want to get fun out of this expedition, we must have a plot. I don’t blame you for being nervous, Will; those trick-playing boys at your place have unsettled your nerves, and unstrung your faculties; but if you stay with me long enough, I’ll string them up till you are ready for anything.”
Will heaved a sigh, blinked painfully, and said, “Thank you!”
Henry resumed: “Yes, Will, I think we can safely leave that question till we get ready to go out. Some way will be found then, never fear. The main point is to get in; it will be easy enough to get out.”
“Let us stop a minute, and look around,” Will said, as they strode warily along on the brow of the hill.
“By all means, Will. Here,” stretching out his arms, and speaking with theatrical vehemence, “here is scenery! This is where the travelling photographers come to astonish themselves!”
A splendid view was obtained from this elevation; the country could be seen for a long distance, and glimpses were caught of three or four towns besides Henry’s.
But the writer seems to forget that he is not a school-girl[171] writing a prize composition in description of some far distant and romantic land of which she, in her younger days, had learned a piece of poetry, difficult and tiresome, but studded with beautiful metaphors that fired her budding genius.
A great many dumb beasts, but no human beings, were in sight.
Henry soon broke the silence by saying, “Come, Will, we must go on.”
They hurried along on the brow of the long hill, conversing in low tones. Still no appearance of the demon. There was a well-beaten path, evidently worn by the demon himself, which they followed. After following this path for a few minutes, Henry suddenly stopped, and said in a hoarse whisper:
“Will, I think we are directly over the cave. Hush! Keep very still, and look out for danger; but be as collected as a desperado. We are two to one; so there is nothing to be afraid of. Now, Will, crouch down, and we’ll lay our plans right over the demon’s head. He can’t hear us, and I want to make everything clear to you. Don’t you see, Will, its a striking idea to plot and scheme over the very cave itself?”
“Yes, it’s just like outlaws,” said Will.
“Well, by going on a little farther, we shall find another path leading down this hill into the valley. We must take that path, so that we can come up to the cave from behind. The demon will never suspect any one of coming from that direction, and he will be trapped nicely. We can get behind the big old tree you see down there, and then fire! You see, Will, we had to come this roundabout way over his cave; it would never do to pass in front of it, and run the risk of being seen.”
Will saw, and admired Henry’s stratagem.
“It makes me think of Robinson Crusoe and his cave,” he whispered, as they rose and went on.
Soon they reached the path leading downwards, which they descended warily, and then found themselves once more in the valley. A few steps ahead was a monstrous old tree, lying flat on the ground, and jutting out towards[172] the opposite bank; while farther along, round an angle, was the entrance into the cave. Any person behind that tree would be effectually hidden from that entrance; and, of course, that entrance would be hidden from him.
Henry’s plan was to fire, and then keep a sharp look-out over the tree till the demon should come out and place some distance between himself and his cave, looking for the cause of the loud noise. He imagined that what with the angle, the surrounding cliffs, and the echoes that would follow, it would be impossible for a person in the cave to tell the exact place from which the report came. When the demon should be at a safe distance from his cave, Henry and Will would dash into it.
Henry thought they would be perfectly safe; for would they not be protected on every side, except from the rear?
From the rear!
When they reached the foot of the hill, they paused and looked warily, even fearfully, up the valley. But it was fast getting dark, and they did not see a man who crouched against the cliff in time to escape observation.
He was the man commonly called the Demon.
The cousins turned and proceeded slowly and circumspectly toward their ambush, fearing every minute that the demon might appear in front of them. As they went they conversed in whispers. The man, or demon, followed so closely behind them that he heard every word; and yet so carefully did he tread that they were not aware of his presence. As will be seen, he gathered the whole plan of attack from their whispered conversation, and took his measures accordingly.
“Now, Will, we must settle the last details of our plot,” Henry said. “You may fire your pistol, Will, but I’ll keep my fire till I see whether we need it or not. I’ll climb the trunk of the tree, when we think it is safe, from your shoulder, and then pull you up. Of course we can jump from the tree to the ground, and then, to run for the cave!”
“But suppose the demon isn’t in his cave?”
“That’s just what we’re afraid of, Will, and we are only[173] taking our chances. He ought to be in at this time of night, eating his supper and tormenting his captives—if he has any. He must be in! I feel that we haven’t come all the way here for nothing; I feel that we are in for a grand adventure! And what will the demon say when he finds two armed boys in his den!”
“Suppose he won’t come out when I fire? He may be too cute to rush out, and leave the door open, and straggle off.”
“Oh, do quit supposing! If he won’t come out, we will shove our way in. If he is a good old man, we must cheer him up, and help him; but if he is a wicked old knave, with captives and treasures, we must set them free, and plunder him for the National Treasury. Here we are at the tree, Will; get out your pistol ready to fire. No, wait! Let me take a look over the log, to see that he isn’t prowling around there.”
After much scrambling, Henry succeeded in climbing upon the tree. Will stood by, fumbling idly with the pistol. The demon, a few steps behind, pressed close against the cliff, and remained unseen.
“I don’t see anything of the demon,” Henry whispered, from the trunk of the tree. “Don’t fire till I slip down, because he might pop out quick, and see me. In a minute or two, I’ll venture up again.”
Before he had finished speaking he was on the ground; and, as bravely as a war-worn general, he said, in a higher key than Will’s proximity made necessary: “FIRE!”
Of course every accomplished story-teller, when he “gets into the thick of it,” must pause deliberately, and give prolix descriptions of people or places about whom or which the general reader cares next to nothing. It is unjust to the impatient, but powerless, reader; but it is the custom. We must plead guilty of this time-honored meanness, and seize the present opportune moment to introduce the demon as he appeared at that time.
He was a tall, powerful man, with light, active movements, worthy of a soldier. His features were regularly formed, and apparently h............