St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-03-19

turned from his collecting tours too
late to pay over what he had collected
to his employers.
'1'm afraid Meredith will bear
said Mr.. Hardesty to his
partner. ellis memorandum shows
that he collected two hundred dollars
from Symes yesterday, and one hun
dred and seventy five dollars was all
he paid in. He says he must have
lost twenty-five dollars. These losses
have occurred three or four times with
in the past six months, and the man
has become either unpardOnably care
less or worse. | must say that I've
about lost confidence in him"
"But have not" said Mr.. Rivers,
promptly. owe known him from
boyhOod, and | would stake my life oh
his honesty. That silly little wife of
his has, I've no doubt, run him In
debt, and he is troubled, and some
times absent minded, but | am sure he
is not dishonest. He has always made
the deficiency good out of his salary,
you know.
"PhOi pho!" Mr.. Hardesty cried,
petulantly. "Some bright morning,
when he happens to have a sufficient
amount in his pocket to make it an OBJ
iect. he will disappear. If it wasn't for
you, I'd ship the fellow"
OF course poor Meredith did not
dream that the foe who was largely to
blame for his loss of credit and reputa-
ton belonged to his own household.
He was Il taciturn man who never
smoke Of business in his family. He
had become absentminded, too, since
his debts pressed upon him SO heavily,
and though he had spoken to his wife
at different times of the loss of his en-
plOyers' money, and made her search
the rooms for the sums that had been
missed, thinking the money might have
been dropped, he never explained to
her that it was mainly his employers
money which was missing. Had he
done so, fear might have restrained
where principle was gone.
Mrs. Meredith never called her pill
ferings theft That was too ugly a
word even to think. Nevertheless, she
had the grace to blush when her
daughter referred to having caught
her in the act.
'If papa refuses the money" Dora
said, "why, mamma, yOu can help
Yourself from his pocket, can't you
I'm sure if dent get new sacque PIl
leave school. | will not stay and see
the girls looking and sneeriDg at my
old sacque, and Olga triumphant. Be
sides, gray is too unbecOming to me.
1t seems to give my skin yellow
tinge."
For the first time in her life Mrs.
Meredith began to think sthdy OF the
harmony of cOlors was not without its
drawbacks. Her pupil wished to in
dulge her taste for that which was be-
coming at very inconvenlent season.
Her husband had looked so distressed
time she took money from his pocket,
that she was almost afraid to venture
to do so again. But she knew Dora
was quite capable of carrying out her
threat, and she was weak woman, as
the reader has seen, and not the per
son to have control over wilfui child.
"Well, dear" she said, ''I'll tell papa
Won need warm sacque. dare say
he'll refuse"
"Then don't ask him !" the dutiful
daughter exclaimed. "Hell be in an
ill-humOr for week. Watch your
chance, mother dear, and help your
self. He'll never be the wiser. OF
course, what's his Ougnt to be yours,
you know"
Mrs. Meredith had very serious mis-
givings that night when she abstracted
what she supposed was a ten-dOllar
bill from her husbands pocket. The
next morning in making payment for
the much coveted sacque she discov-
cred, to her horror, that it was a fifty
dollar bill she had taken. Words fail
to paint her dismay, and when at noon
her husband hurried into the house,
pale and excited as she had never seen
him before, the guilty woman almost
tainted away.
"Kate,n he cried, "there is something
wrong in this house. fifty dollar
bill has been taken from my pocket.
1t was money that belonged to the
firm. | know it was in my pocket, for
before going to bed | made up my ac-
counts, counted the money | had re-
ceived during the day, and there was
no discrepancy"
"Perhaps you dropped it while
counting" the frightened woman man
aged to say.
"Impossible but search everywhere,
for I'm ruined if it's not found. This
has happened, as you know, several
times. Does the cook ever come up
into our room in the evening" I've
surmised that there was something
wrong in this house but it seemed
hardly possible that there was thief
here taking money from me. With this
feeling, however, l marked all the
notes, and shall advertise, and if the
one that | lost is used in town, | shall
be sure to know it, and then | shall
knew hsw the person came by it. But
that will not save me, I'm afraid. Why,
what's the matter with you ~