John was far from the simple rustic he pretended to be. He did not like the looks of this company including the woman with her impudent beauty and wild laughter., He had noticed the meaningful glances exchanged between her and one of the men. Recollecting the tales of foul play he had heard, he knew that it would be as easy to dispose of him here as upon the lonely road. He wished now that he had not heeded the beckoning light but had chosen to brave the terrors of the dark.

Scratching his head, he weighed his chances. It would be foolish to try to escape now. He must think of some plan to use later. Perhaps when they went to sleep-if they did-or if they left only one to watch the door, he would stand a better chance. There was the window-but he must wait until all was quiet so that he could get the horse and his hides.

Finally he hit upon a plan. Taking some of the bed clothes and a pillow, he made a dummy and covered it on the bed. Then removing half of his money from the wallet, he put it in his pocket and placed the wallet on the chair beside the bed. Blowing out the lantern, he sat down behind a stand in the dark corner to wait until it was safe to go.

Soon, weary from his traveling, he slept. How much time passed he could not tell, but he waked to hear a low murmur of voices. Light came from a slit in the wall, and he stole over to peer through the crack into the bright taproom. There he saw the man named Fisher and the woman seated at a table counting the coins from his wallet.

The man pushed the money aside in disgust, "Scarcely enough," he said, "to pay his board."

"But the wagon," whispered his wife. "It is full of hides. Aye, ye will realize a godly sum for that."

The man puckered his mouth and nodded his head. He was well-pleased over that.

The woman spoke again, "I will attend to him at breakfast."

Peeples stared at her, thinking, "Oh, no, my beauty. I will be on my way long before a poisoned breakfast!"

And he heard the man say, "We’ll turn him in now and go to sleep."

She clutched at his arm, "No-John, leave him to me. I can’t listen to his cries down there for all the time that it takes to die."

Fisher pushed her away and strode over to the wall. She followed, clinging to him.

Throwing her from him so violently that she fell to the floor, he reached up and grasped with both hands an iron handle and, straining and pulling, managed to force it all the way to the floor.

A creaking and scraping sound followed. Suddenly there was a great rushing noise behind Peeples. When he turned his head, what he saw made his knees buckle, and he clung to the wall for support. There where he had placed the dummy was no bed-no floor. There was only a great gaping hole! And had he, himself, stretched out his tired body between the sheets, his cries would even now be heard-and for as long as it takes to die.