The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1902-05-01

ssw . prsttier. poa ny honor. And
just think what Il means to her. Why.
iEs little less tAaA . crime to keep
. creature like her boxed up in .
wretched little place like yours. Ex-
euse plain speaking. old chap. but
she'll be the happlest woman in En-
gland when you 60 70 her and tell her
how much you are worth. Show her
your bank book-sAe's been used
to better things than you csn give
her a. yet, but wsn change all that.~
GeofRrey's heart was heavy % lAaA.
but his very power Of speech scanned
affected, his iree-will gone lost In the
suttle influence his evil genius exertea
over him. y : =
The evening was passed In diflersz1
places-but the society was all the
same. the conversation all ON the
same subject-and the papers were
scsnned by eager. burning eyes. and
voico kept whispering In his ear
that before another week had fed
that 500 would be S.o00-old Mason
would never know anything about IT.
he should buy a partnership in some
6rst-rate firm.
And SO the roseate dream went on,
night passed. and Sharp. eager for the
money, called at the Office for it al
most as soon as Geoffrey reached
there himself.
just as he was handing the notes
over terrible revulsion of feeling
set in. Confidential clerk; one who
had been in the same Office for Is
years; trusted by old Mason as his
own son would have been.
Good heavens. Sharp" he said,
almost ghastly in his pallor, "if-if it
fails; If there is any mistake, nothing
can save me. It's-it's not my money.
II feel like thief"
He was thief; but Sharp's airy an
swer reassured him.
Nonsense! You are only borrow
ing it. Think of this day week. lucky
dog"-with a facetious poke in the
ribs. 81 tell you you are the only
friend in the world I'd have let n this;
it's too good, you know. Tomorrow
the shares will be bounding up like
wild fire."
How Godfrey lived through the day
and night he could not tell. His head
seemed in whirl; everything was
confused and blurred. Sharp did not
look in that evening and the next
mornings papers had said things were
unchanged.
Twenty-four hours later an un-
looked-for catastrophe happened.
Some hideous blunder had sent the
shares down; they were dropping like
lead-down, down, down; but they
never reached the level of Geoffrey's
heart, for that was trampled to the
earth-crushed with the impending
doom which no power of his could
now avert. He would ere long be
lodged in felon's cell, sent there by
his own act and deed, Sharp merely
showing the way.
Sharp had absconded-just as poor
Violet lad told him n hundred times
would be the case sooner or later
and he carried with him the reputa-
tions and situations of scores of men
who all. like Geofroy Grey, had lis
tened to his specious stories and
risked their honor on the fairy tales
he had told them
If -Geoffrey could have called back
that one week by the sacrifice Of his
right hand, by years Of penance, he
would have sacrificed them freely;
but the past can never be recalled.
He had stolen, embezzled his employ
er's money-he didn't deceive himself
any longer with the specious word
"borrowed"-and the brand of thief
would be stamped on his brow for
ever!
He was so new to crime that he
could not hide the fearful agitation
which never left him, and gradually
his fellow-clerhs shrank away from
him, whispering among themselves,
and he knew they had guessed the Sc
cret. Someone knew the money had
been paid in but was not entered in
the ledger-eyeryone would be a wit
ness against him and see his degre-
dation!
Could he live to face it? Sometimes
he thought not! Then again, he set
his teeth and asked himself II he
were coward enough to leave poor
Violet alone and disgraced in the
world. Woman's love! He had often
heard of it, and his wife's love for
ihim was so great that she would meet
him at the prison gates when the time
was up, and never utter one word OF
reproach for the havoc he had made
of her life. God bless her! God bless
her! Oh! if he could ever atone, evel
retrieve! But it was too late! How
clearly he saw then, with a felon's eel
awaiting him, the truth and beauty
of the words she had so often said tt
him:
"It is not wealth and luxury tha
bring happiness, Geoff, dear 1t i.
true love, sufficient for the dali,