asn't deep, and he wanted
to inquire after an old man who had been robbed and half frightened to
death, a few days before. He was a miserable old creature, known as
Miser Jerrold, and he lived alone with his daughter. He had saved a
little money that he kept in a box under his bed. When father got near
the place, he was astonished to see by Pacer's actions that he had been
on this road before, and recently, too. Father is so sharp about horses,
that they never do a thing that he doesn't attach a meaning to. So he
let the reins hang a little loose, and kept his eye on Pacer. The horse
went along the road, and seeing father didn't direct him, turned into
the lane leading to the house. There was an old red gate at the end of
it, and he stopped in front of it, and waited for father to get out.
Then he passed through, and instead of going up to the house, turned
around, and stood with his head toward the road.

"Father never said a word, but he was doing a lot of thinking. He went
into the house, and found the old man sitting over the fire, rubbing his
hands, and half-crying about 'the few poor dollars,' that he said he had
had stolen from him. Father had never seen him before, but he knew he
had the name of being half silly, and question him as much as he liked,
he could make nothing of him. The daughter said that they had gone to
bed at dark the night her father was robbed. She slept up stairs, and he
down below. About ten o'clock she heard him scream, and running down
stairs, she found him sitting up in bed, and the window wide open. He
said a man had sprung in upon him, stuffed the bedclothes into his
mouth, and dragging his box from under the bed, had made off with it.
She ran to the door and looked out, but there was no one to be seen. It
was dark, and snowing a little, so no traces of footsteps were to be
perceived in the morning.

"Father found that the neighbors were dropping in to bear the old man
company, so he drove on to Sudbury, and then returned home. When he got
back, he said Jacobs was hanging about the stable in a nervous kind of a
way, and said he wanted to speak to him. Father said very good, but put
the horse in first. Jacobs unhitched, and father sat on one of the
stable benches and watched him till he came lounging along with a straw
in his mouth, and said he'd made up his mind to go West, and he'd like
to set off at once.

"Father said again, very good, but first he had a little account to
settle w