The Lizard was greatly impressed. Of course, he tried to conceal his wonder and admiration, because a brave must never be surprised. He hid it in his leather shirt, then he went, with startling swiftness and perfectly noiseless, and the girl found herself alone again faced by the necessity of instant flight.
It was three o’clock in the morning, and she wanted to be off in the grey of daybreak.
There was no time to make a careful disposition of the "greenbacks," or dollar bills. She took a broad strip of a pelt, cured soft as silk, tacked the two packets to it with strong stitches of her needle and thread, and fastened it round her waist under her leather shirt. It was the only way she could think of doing it quickly. Later she might invent some new plan. But it all depended on events.
Then she woke David, who grunted rather discontentedly, and then sat up in his blankets.
"What’s the good of getting up in the middle of the night," he said; "we’ve done all the things, and we aren’t going till to-morrow."
"We are going to-day, in about half an hour," Nell told him; "something has happened."
"I _say_--what, what’s happened?" David scrubbed his face with both hands to wake himself, he was still rather unbelieving.
"I’ll tell you while we are having breakfast," said Nell. "It’s very queer and it isn’t nice! Things have been happening all night, and now it’s just about daybreak."
"_I say!_" exclaimed the boy again, "then you haven’t been to sleep! What a shame!"
"Don’t think I could have gone to sleep anyhow. I had such a horribly wideawake mind. Never mind, we’ll sleep to-night--let’s hope." She laughed and went away.
Less than an hour later the little cavalcade took the trail.
Nell left the house in order because she could not find it possible to leave dirt and confusion. She locked the door outside and put the big key in her pocket. Then she nailed a square of paper on the doorpost, using a stone to drive in the nail. On the paper was printed:
"Will he believe that?" asked David, speaking in a whisper, for the grey, thick chill of the morning’s dawn rather oppressed him, though the flight did not. He thought the whole thing a mighty spree.
"Not till he’s broken open the door," said Nell dryly. "That is the time I’m counting on, you see? He’ll break in and hunt every corner of the house for Dad’s money. When he can’t find it he’ll think I’ve gone on to Dad, at their shack. I’m counting on _that_, too."