The morning call., 1891-10-24

about that as you seem to be. However,
he missed his tip this time as REGARDS the
swag-"
i" Do. for heavens sake, speak EngIish!
What tip? WHAT swag?"
ITO be sure. you have been asleep while
Pve been talking about nothing else Tor the
last three hours. There are defalcatlons-
$4,000. they say-eXtending over long
series of years; but there would have been
&50,O00 more gone-all negotiable seeurt-
teS-but for their opening the safe, Whefe
they were found neatly made up to go IN
his bag this very night. You remember MS
black Dag"
l nodded eagerly. but with sinking
sensation, too. knew more about Jones
seemed to have something personal as well
as shocking about it. AS 1 sat up in bed l
saw the bag lying in the corner Gf that g0r-
ge0us room at HartOn Hall; L hrard the
clatter of talk from the dintng-room; saw
the ladies trailing their fine dresses up the
stairs. and | heard once more Mrs. Jones'
contemptuous voice saying "Oh, from the
ofiicep
"They found 1t out while he was at
lunch, and the detectives sat in his room
with the warrant for him, only he never
came back. The old fellow Smelied rat
suppose"
/ think this is highly probable. 1 think
he read something he was looking for in my
face that morning, and, coupling II with my
unusual disappearance ior he nau aSAeu
for me, it SEEMED, had decided as ne sat
over his chop at the eatlng-hOuse that ne
had better be off at once. To take the bag
away with him at that early hour would
have brought suspicion. il suspicion there
was, to head Immediately. He dd not
dare to risk ii, and in his case the cetter
part of yalOr had certainly been discretion;
for five minutes Of such valor would have
cost him five years penal servltude. lie
was never seen again in England.
Ten days afterward or so l was summoned
from my desk to the partners rar!or. 1t
was not generally pleasant invitation, but
rather resembled what is called at Cam
bridge being convened" to guilty con-
science it meant something very serious, but
though my conscience may Dc thoaguI
peculiar. it WAS not guilty one.
There were four partners, whom
scarcely knew by sight, and MIR. Aps'ey,
who completed the quorum, was the speaker.
"Mr Ackers, we have sent for you to con-
gratuute you upon your conduct the other
night with respect TO our late manager.
You showed yourself aware of what was
due to one who had held Il position of trust
with US for many years, and also TO your
employers interests. You said neither more
nor less than you ought to have sand. II
nothing was wrong with him you did him
no harm; If there was anything amlss you
put US on our guard. 1t was owing to you
that certain very grievOus losses, incurred
through this man. 5 dishonesty, and of which
We had hitherto no clew, have not been very
seriously increased. l am instructed by the
firm to thank you" (here four most respecta-
be heads bow ed to me aifubly). 1T is very
unusual to find so young a man endowed
with such discretion. You will take Mr..
Roberts place as third clerk in this estab
lishment. Good morning"
1t was very pleasant quarter of an hour.
What | have often thought of since was
the astuteaess with which that excellent
old gentleman concealed from me that
night the suspicious which l myself had
awakened He, of course, perceived the
necessity Of not arOusiHg those of Mr..
Jones by communicating them to me. An
other thing which has always puzzled me
is my own behavior on that occasion; my
conscience was clearly commendab.e, since
its workings were so well rewarded; but
how very near it was to going wrong, so to
speak, both ways!
1t strikes me as having been more pro-
frsSicual than moral or philosophical
what we may call clerks conscience,
though scarcely that of a clerk in holy or
der,.-From Sunny Stories and Some Shady
0nes. by James Payn. By permission of
the John W. Lowell CampalV.