iously put on his friend's coat. He had need to be careful, for a
precarious perch like this, with an unmeasured abyss beneath, the far
blue sky above, the almost inaccessible face of a cliff on one side, and
on the other a distant stretch of mountains, is not exactly the kind of
place in which one would prefer to make a toilet. Besides the dangers of
his position, he was anxious to do no damage to the coat, which although
loose and baggy on Barney, was rather a close fit for Nick.

"I ain't used ter climbin' with a coat on, nohow, an' I mus' be mighty
keerful not ter bust Barney's, 'kase it air all the one he hev got," he
said to himself as he clambered nimbly down to the ledge.

Then he walked deftly along the narrow shelf, and as he turned abruptly
into the immense niche in the cliff called the Conscripts' Hollow, he
started back in sudden bewilderment. His heart gave a bound, and then it
seemed to stand still.

He hardly recognized the familiar place. There, to be sure, were the
walls and the dome-like roof, but upon the dusty sandstone floor were
scattered quantities of household articles, such as pots and pails and
pans and kettles. There was a great array of brogans, too, and piles of
blankets, and bolts of coarse unbleached cotton and jeans cloth.

"Waal, sir!" he exclaimed, as he gazed at them with wild,
uncomprehending eyes.

Then the truth flashed upon him. A story had reached Goliath Mountain
some weeks before, to the effect that a cross-roads store, some miles
down the valley, had been robbed. The thieves had escaped with the
stolen goods, leaving no clue by which they might be identified and
brought to justice.

Nick saw that he had made a discovery. Here it was that the robbers had
contrived to conceal their plunder, doubtless intending to wait until
suspicion lulled, when they could carry it to some distant place, where
it could safely be sold.

Suddenly a thought struck him that sent a shiver through every fibre of
his body. This store was robbed in a singular manner. No bolt was
broken,--no door burst open. There was a window, however, that lacked
one pane of glass. The aperture would not admit a man's body. It was
believed that the burglars had passed a boy through it, who had handed
out the stolen goods.

And now, Nick foolishly argued, if any one should discover that _he_
knew where the plunder was hidden, they would believe that _he_ was that
boy who had robbed the store!

He began to re