The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-12-25

who or when or how. The employees
had been asked to use extra care and
vigilance, and the most light-hearted
girl there felt worried and uneasy.
Was it clever shoplifter? Gould
there be a thief among them? Did
the firm suspect any one? Was there
perhaps a detective watching them
even now? And-did detectives not
sometimes make mistakes? Every one
was painfully nervous, and impatient
to have the mystery cleared up.
"And believe you know some hing
about it, Floy" said Jennie Burnham,
under her breath, to fellow clerk.
"Why, what makes you think that?'
Floy asked, startled.
81 know it. | know by-by the way
you hold your tongue when we are all
puzzling about it. Now what is itY'
mo" said Floy Irving very slowly
as If weighing every word, mo, | do
not know any more than the rest or
you about this. | don's even know
what is missing"
"But you have a suspicion. Now own
up"
mo" even more slowly. And If |
had, it might be doing great mis-
take to tell
"Oh, you obstinate little mule! |
wish there was an X-ray so we could
look through peoples heads and find
out what they knew"
But some one came up just then,
and Floy seized the opportunity to
slip away, with a deep breath of
thankfulness. For she did know some
thing-only, had it anything to do
with this case? If she spoke, all in
the store-or all but two, PERHAPS
would say at once, THAT solves the
riddle" But would it? Or would it
ouly practically convict one who might
after all be innocent?
Oh, if, there were only some X-ray
by which one might look into a soul
and see if it were true There he stood
at an opposite counter, quiet and faith
full, although he must know that one
word from her would concentrate all
this dark cloud of suspicion on his
head.
Yet why should she not say, 81 do
not know who is the thief now, but
know who was responsible for simi
lar course of petty losses a few years
ago, and not so many miles away. He
calls himself Robert Murdock now, but
he was sent to the reform school then
under the name of Bob Jameson"
Yet was it quite fair to conclude
that because Bob Jameson, ill-fed, i'll
clothed and ill-advised by an unscrup-
ulous stepfather, had robbed the en-
ployer who provoked the act by re-
fusing to pay fair wages, therefore
Robert Murdock, some years older,
wiser, and to all appearance strictly
honorable, was equally guilty?
He had been in the store some
months now, and apparently she alone
knew of this old trouble. She hardly
knew why she had not tod that he
was an old schoolmate of her own
partly, perhaups because so much had
been said Of 2 girls INABILITY 10 keeY a
secret, and she resented the idea, but
more on account Of a kindly re.uc,-
ance to make trouble for one trying
to start anew. No one bat himself
knew that the had ever met before
Murdocks behavior had been fault
less-almost too good to be natural, il
seemed to Floy. Still, this might
mean only that he was determined
to retrieve his good name and bury
the old disgrace from sight forever
What injustice, then, practically tc
convict him of this new theft, with
out one particle of proof, and make
the cloud above him darker thar
ever.
Yet the word once spoken coult
never be recalled. And there before
dock, waiting the word that SHOULD
hurl him to destruction-yet neither
by word nor look appealing for mercy
She slipped out hurriedly, when thu
days work was over, lest Jennie shoulC
overtake and ply her with more ques
tions. She did not want to talk-or t.
think. What was the use of puzzlin.
ones brains over problem one hat
not facts to solve? But before she hat
fairly reached her boarding place sh,
was stopped by one of her comrades il
the store, with piteous appeal:
20 Floy Irving, I'm in such both
er! You'll help me out, won't you
There's a darling My head aches fl
to split, and there was such crow,
at our counter couldn't begin to keel
things straight, and some of the ladie
pulled the laces all round and go
them into such a tangle! | do believ
one of them was the shoplifter tha
is making us all so much trouble.
didn't dare take my eyes off her, and
Just showed the whole tangle back in
drawer, out of sight, till | had tim
to straighten them out. And my hea
ached so that | forgot them entirely
o Floy, would you go and put ther
away for me-like an angel? | don
feel as II | could stand it to go bac
oh