The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-08-14

mates, as he made his appearance at
school one morning. "Come over here
in corner of the playground. We're
having an impromptu meeting of the
Literary here"
"What's up?" asked Dick.
Why, we've just found out that old
Preston is going to be married; and
considering the good send-off he gave
us when we organized our society, and
all he's done for it, we think it would be
the correct thing to draw about twenty
| five dollars from our funds, and give
him handsome present. All the rest
of us are in for it, so what do you say?"
All at once Dicks heart seemed to
stop beating, and everything swan be-
fore his eyes. What would the boys
say if they knew he had used twenty
dollars out of the treasury?
" Hello, old mani Seen a ghost?
what's the matter with your" queried
one of the boys, giving him a rough
but not unkindly shake.
Dick recovered himself by a violent
effort.
CT don't feel good this morning."
he said rather feebly. " Yes, it would
be nice to get Mr.. Preston present.
When are you going to get it?"
"Next Saturday we'll delegate two
of the boys to go to the city and pick
out something" answered Harry.
There goes the school-belll I'll tell
you more afterward" And the boys
trooped into the school-room.
The hours of the morning session
seemed like an eternity of misery to
Dick. He could not force his mind TO
attend to his lessons, and failed utterly
in all his recitations.
Finally Mr.. Preston called him to
the desk.
What's the matter with you this
morning, my boy?" he asked kindly.
" Are you sick?"
" Yes, sir" stammered Dick, unable
to lift his face and meet the keen,
searching glance of the masters gray
eyes.
/" Then l will excuse you for the day,
for there is no use in remaining when
you are not prepared for Rotations"
Dick gladly availed himself of the
permission to leave the school-room;
and, gathering up his books, he went
homeward at gait very different from
his usual brisk step.
How could he escape this terrible
disgrace which seemed so imminent?
How could he possibly replace the sum
he had appropriated by Saturday morn
ing? He thought and thought until he
grew fairly sick with despair. The
headache which he pleaded as an ex-
cuse for not coming to his dinner was
not an imaginary one; and at last he
had to give up all efforts at thought,
his head throbbed so painfully. His
mothers loving touch, as she bathed his
forehead with gentle hands, only in
creased his remorse. His disgrace
would not fall upon himself alone, but
upon his mother; and he could not
bear the thought of bringing sorrow
upon her.
But it did not take a mothers loving
intuition long to discover that some
thing more than headache was troub-
ling Dick, and almost before he knew
it she had drawn the whole story from
him.
go Dick'
That was all she said but, as the boy
looked up and saw the pain in her face
and the tears quivering in her eyes, he
knew that, whatever disgrace and blame
might await him, the keenest part of
Ms vas w hllOW lIldl uc
had caused his mother this sorrow.
Mother, Pm so sorry" he moaned
hiding his face in the pillow.
The loving arms drew him back to
the resting-place on his mothers Shout
der, as she said:
1t is not the loss of the money,
Dick, but to think that my boy could
be dishonest"
Dick started as if an arrow had
pierced him.
Not dishonest, mother" he cried.
81 meant to put it back again"
That is not the question, dear.
You took money that did not belong to
you. You used trust funds that were
put in your care; and that is the wrong
doing, whether you replace the money
or not. That is just where the first
step is taken in the path that leads TO
dishonor. You blamed that man we
read about in the paper the other day
who defaulted; but do you think that
he began his career of dishonesty with
the settled determination to steal? Far
more probably he was tempted as you
were, to appropriate little money for
his own use, intending to replace il;
and, failing as you did, he took more
and more money to cover up his pre-
vious sins. Now, dear, must and
will procure the money for you to make
good the sum you took; and l want you
to promise me most solemnly that, with
Gods help, you will never again use a
cent of money that is intrusted to your
care"
81 promise you, mother" answered
Dick, feeling sure that the remembrance
of this bitter experience would always
stand between him and temptation.
! He grieved over the sacrifice of a
valued possession that his mother sold,
to save him from disgrace; and he shut
his bicycle up in the wood-shed, de-
termined not to ride it again until he
had earned enough money to repay his
mother.
1t was severe lesson, but it was
worth all the suffering it cost; for he
learned that trust-fund is sacred
thing, not to be appropriated to other
, uses.