The record-union., 1897-10-03

and judging by what Mr.. Blencowe
himself saw and heard, he seemed to
give most Of ii away. But then he
was not the man to regard money trou-
bles as troubles at all. So long as he
had house over his head, clothes, good
or bad, to cover him, bread to eat, and
water to drink, he would want no more.
The money troubles of man who could
reduce his wants to such a minimum
| scarcely required to be taken into ac-
count
Edward, you have not said one word
for the last hour" remarked Mrs. Blen-
cove, when the clock struck ten.
Il can't help thinking about Father
Urquhart. He seems so wofully out
Of spirits''
$50 you said before; but it can't be
about not getting on with the Slagbor-
ough people, for no priest was ever
more loved by his flock.''
Then it should pay little more at
tention to what he says, and remember
the poor and needy There is next to
nothing in the offertory nowadays"
you must account for that in some
| other way than any you have yet
thought Of Could any one steal what
! is given?''
'Impossiblet The box has a most
excellent lock ard only one key, which
myself keep. I never open the box
| except in the presence of VickerS. He
can't open it without memo one can
not even Father Urquhart, for no one
besides myself has a key. 1t would be
difficult to use one, too, even if any one
had it, for some one is nearly always in
the church, though must say" but
here he paused.
You must say what? Go on"
e. was only going to say that had it
been possible to open the box, I really
should have suspected that it had been
done during the past week, for both
| Vickers and were certain that we had
each put a sovereign into the poor-box,
and only one coin of the kind was to be
i found.
only one sovereign was in the poor
box, and each of you thought that you
had given iti When did you give
yours?"
"On Sunday morning."
''And he his?''
This very afternoon-twenty minutes
or so before we cleared the boxes"
And you were both sure you had
given a sovereign, and yet only one was
there. How do you account for that?"
''One of us must have given a shilling
by mistake"
THAT, dear, would not account for
it, said Mrs. Blencowe dryly, 'for 1
myself put sovereign into the poor
7 o1lf
of my sovereign-pu and 1 swear
that I made no mistake. Now, I think,
you must see that some one is stealing
the money!
Mr.. Blencowe was silent Feeling
that this was because he was uncon-
vinced she continued: THAT makes
two pounds that we know of that the
thief has got, and he must have got a
great deal more that we do not know
of. There are not a great many Cath
olics in Slagborough, but some Of them
are rich. Do you suppose that people
like the Hedleys, and Smythe-Symp-
sons, and Scrope-Browns, and ever
so many more, do not give handsome
| ly? The thief has got their money
and ours, and would have got what
Mr.. Vickers gave too, only it was put
in just before you cleared the boxes"
1T really does look very much as if
you were right, Agnes said Mr.. Blen-
cove sadly.
Fright? OF course am. How much
used you generally to find in the boxes
last year?"
'Oh, never less than four, or five, or
six pounds, but people are holding back
/ rr.~
/ have great haul then"
TT is the thief who will have the
great haul! But can see you don't
/ believe that there is thief"
He scarcely did. He himself might
have made a mistake, or his wife might
or perhaps Vickers. 1t was so easy
to make a mistake.
1.-THE money is stolen, Edwardi 1t
behooves you to be on your guard Fa-
ther Urquhart knows it. That is what
is making him so ill.,
''Then he should have spoken to me
at once" said Mr.. Blencowe beginning
to be a little more convinced. 'It was
his duty to tell me, and then we could
| have employed detectives and had the
church watched"
Don't you see that the very thought
of such a thing being necessary is tor
ture to Father Urquhart-he is so SEN
sitive, so hight-minded?"
'It will have to be donei I must
speak to him at once-or stay, shall I
Go a little detective business on my
own account?"
'Ah! It's getting just like a Bois-
gobey novel; But Boisgobys amateur
ions, and confide each important step
that they intend to take to the criminal
himself, and he is always the most un-
! likely person in the book. Who is the
most unlikely person in Slagborough ?"
''AIr. Scrope-Browne. Write a novel
about it yourself, Agnes and make him
the villain"
| ooh, no; that is clumsy! I should
make Father Urquhart the criminal
/ Some absolutely impera tive need for
money shall have suddenly arisen, and
! his honor and honesty shall have been
overmastered by necessity He shall
| go about in a state of gloomy despair
| which shall be visible to all, though
none shall suspect the cause"
Just as Father Urquhart is doing
now!" said Mr.. Blencowe dryly.
| Good heavens, Edwardl I did not
| for a moment mean that"
'Of course not! It is a capital sub
! ject though. I wonder what we on
! the bench should think of honor and
| honesty having been suddenly over
mastered by necessity if that phrase
were used TO us as an excuse p"
81 really cannot believe that the mon
| ey is stolen, Agnes he said after a