"
"Then you'll want to be near here," said the man. "I'll tell you, I've
got just the place for you. The platform's boarded in all round, but I
noticed one plank that's loose at one end, right at this nigh corner,
and if you just pry it open enough to get in, and then pull the board
in place, they'll never find you."
"That will do," I said; "and when the letters are safe, come out on
the platform, walk up and down once, bang the door twice, and then
say, 'That way freight is late.' And if you get a chance, tell one of
the Cullens where I'm hidden."
I crossed the platform boldly, jumped down, and walked away. But after
going fifty feet I dropped down on my hands and knees and crawled
back. Inside of two minutes I was safely stowed away under the
platform, in about as neat a hiding-place as a man could ask. In fact,
if I had only had my wits enough about me to borrow a revolver of the
man, I could have made a pretty good defence, even if discovered.
Underneath the platform was loose gravel, and, as an additional
precaution, I scooped out, close to the side-boarding, a trough long
enough for me to lie in. Then I got into the hole, shovelled the sand
over my legs, and piled the rest up in a heap close to me, so that by
a few sweeps of my arm I could cover my whole body, leaving only my
mouth and nose exposed, and those below the level. That made me feel
pretty safe, for, even if the cowboys found the loose plank and
crawled in, it would take uncommon good eyesight, in the darkness, to
find me.
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