behind his back as a relief to his own feelings but he never abused him to his face because he said is such a frail beast that half of his conceit is due to pains in the chest late one april went very sick indeed the doctor him and him and told him he would be better before long then the doctor went to and said � do you know how sick your is no said � the worse the better confound him he s a nuisance when he s well i ll let you take away the bank safe if you can him silent for this hot weather but the doctor did not laugh � man i m not joking he said i ll give him another three months in his bed and a week or so more to die in on my honor and reputation that s all the l tales from the hills he has in this world consumption has hold of him to the s face changed at once into the face of mr and he answered � what can i do nothing said the doctor for all practical purposes the man is dead already keep him quiet and cheerful and tell him he s going to recover that s all i ll look after him to the end of course the doctor went away and sat down to open the evening mail his first letter was one from the for his information that mr was to resign under a month s notice by the terms of his agreement telling their letter to would follow and of the coming of a new a man whom knew and liked lit a and before he had finished smoking he had the outline of a fraud he put away � � the letter and went in to talk to who was as as usual and himself over the way the bank would run during his illness he never thought of the extra work on s shoulders but solely of the damage to his own prospects of advancement then assured him that everything would be well and that he would confer with daily on the management of the bank was a little soothed but he hinted in as many words that he did not think much of s business capacity was humble and he had let a bank fraud in his desk from the that a or a might have been proud of the days passed in tlie big darkened house and the letter of dismissal to came and was put away by every evening brought the books to s room and showed him what had been going forward while did his best to make statements pleasing to but the was sure that the bank was going to rack and ruin without him in june as the lying in bed told on his spirit he asked w� his absence had been noted by the and said that they had written most sympathetic letters hoping that he would be able to resume his valuable services before long he showed the letters and said that the ought to have written to him direct a few days later opened s mail in the half light of the room and gave him the sheet � not the envelope � of a letter to from the said he would thank not to interfere with his private papers specially as knew he was too weak to open his own letters then s mood changed and he on his evil ways his horses and his bad friends of course lying here on my back mr i can t keep you straight but when i m well i do hope you ll pay some heed to my words who had dropped and dinners and and all to attend to said that he was penitent and settled s head on the pillow and heard him fret and j tales from the bills in hard dry whispers without a sign of impatience this the end of a heavy day s office work doing double duty in the latter half of june when the new came told him the facts of the case and announced to that he had a guest staying with him said that he might have had more consideration than to entertain his doubtful friends at such a time made the new sleep at the club in consequence s took some of the heavy work off his shoulders and he had time to attend to s � to explain soothe invent and settle and the poor wretch in bed and to complimentary letters from at the end of the first month wished to send some money home to his mother sent the at the end of the second month s salary came in just the same paid it out of ms own pocket and with it wrote a beautiful letter from the was very ill indeed but the flame of his life burnt now and then he would be cheerful and confident about the future plans for going home and seeing his mother listened patiently when the office work was over and encouraged him at other times insisted on s reading the bible and grim tracts to him out of these tracts he pointed morals directed at his manager but he always found time to worry about the working of the bank and to show him where the weak points lay a bank fraud l in door sick room life and constant strains wore down a good deal and shook his nerves and lowered his play by forty points but the business of the bank and the business of the sick room had to go on though the glass was ii � in the shade at the end of the third month was sinking fast and had begun to realize that he was very sick but the conceit that made him worry kept him from believing the worst 