uke's room, and started to paw around it with
my hands; but I recollected it wouldn't be much like the king to let
anybody else take care of that money but his own self; so then I went
to his room and begun to paw around there. But I see I couldn't do
nothing without a candle, and I dasn't light one, of course. So I
judged I'd got to do the other thing--lay for them and eavesdrop.
About that time I hears their footsteps coming, and was going to skip
under the bed; I reached for it, but it wasn't where I thought it
would be; but I touched the curtain that hid Mary Jane's frocks, so I
jumped in behind that and snuggled in amongst the gowns, and stood
there perfectly still. They come in and shut the door; and the first
thing the duke done was to get down and look under the bed. Then I was
glad I hadn't found the bed when I wanted it. And yet, you know, it's
kind of natural to hide under the bed when you are up to anything
private. They sets down then, and the king says:

"Well, what is it? And cut it middlin' short, because it's better for
us to be down there a-whoopin' up the mournin' than up here givin' 'em
a chance to talk us over."

"Well, this is it, Capet. I ain't easy; I ain't comfortable. That
doctor lays on my mind. I wanted to know your plans. I've got a
notion, and I think it's a sound one."

"What is it, duke?"

"That we better glide out of this before three in the morning, and
clip it down the river with what we've got. Specially, seeing we got
it so easy--_given_ back to us, flung at our heads, as you may say,
when of course we allowed to have to steal it back. I'm for knocking
off and lighting out."

That made me feel pretty bad. About an hour or two ago it would 'a'
been a little different, but now it made me feel bad and disappointed.
The king rips out and says:

"What! And not sell out the rest o' the property? March off like a
passel of fools and leave eight or nine thous'n' dollars' worth o'
property layin' around jest sufferin' to be scooped in?--and all good,
salable stuff, too."

The duke he grumbled; said the bag of gold was enough, and he didn't
want to go no deeper--didn't want to rob a lot of orphans of
_everything_ they had.

"Why, how you talk!" says the king. "We sha'n't rob 'em of nothing at
all but jest this money. The people that _buys_ the property is the
suff'rers; because as soon 's it's found out 'at we didn't own
it--which won't be long after we've slid--the sale won't be va