Ben was alarmed lest she were about to wake up, and
stood stock-still, with his fingers on the latch. But there was no
further sound. The woman partially turned over, and soon her quiet,
regular breathing notified Ben that sleep had resumed its power over
her. Probably she had stirred in consequence of some uneasy dream.
With a deep breath of relief, Ben opened the door, passed out, and
closed it softly after him.
He was out of the house, and in the freedom of the woods. Before
morning he might have put fifteen miles between him and the cabin of
his foes. He would have felt disposed to do so, and avoid all
further trouble, if Bradley had been with him, and in condition to
travel. As this was not to be thought of, he proceeded to search for
a suitable place to secrete his troublesome treasure.
The cabin stood in a valley, or canon, in the shadow of gigantic
pine-trees, rising straight as a flagpole to the altitude of nearly
two hundred feet. They were forest giants, impressive in their lofty
stature, and Ben regarded them with wonder and awe. They were much
smaller in every way than the so-called big trees to be found in the
Calaveras and Mariposa groves; but these had not at that time been
discovered, and the pines were the largest trees our hero had ever
encountered.
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