Year: 1870

burdened with politeness as to trouble him
self about taking off his hat when he cam,
in | had never seen him before in my life
and could not form the slightest coniectur,
from his appearance toward guessing hi
position in the world He was not gentle
man, evidently; but as to fixing his where
abouts in the infinite downward gradatio1
of vagabond existence in London, that wa
mystery which | was totally incompetent
to solve.


"Is your name Trowbridge ?' he began


Yes" | answered, dryly enough.


s.Do YOU bank with Marsh Stracey Faunt
leroy and Graham ?"


why do you ask?''


"Answer my question, and you will know. >
| every well, do bank with Marsh, Stracey
Fauntlerov and Graham-and what then ?'


"Draw out every farthing of balance YOU
have pot before the bank closes at five to.
day"


/ stared at him in speechless amazement
The words, for an instant, absolutely petrifi-
ed me-


"Stare as much as you like he proceeded
coolly, II mean what | say. Look at your
clock there. In twenty llinttes it will strike
five, and the bank will be shut. Draw out
every farthing, l tell you again, and look
sharp about it,"


"Draw out my money :" I exclaimed, par
TALLY recovering myself care you in your
right senses? Do you know that the firm
bank with represents one Of the first houses
in the world2 What do you mean-you, who
are total stranger to me-by taking this ex-
traordinary interest in my affairs? If you
want me to act on your advice, why don't
you explain yourself?"


II have explained myself Act on my
advice or not, just as you like. 1t don't mat
ter to me. l have done what promised, and
there's an end of it."


He turned to the door. The minute hand
of the clock was getting on from the twenty
minutes to the quarter.


"Done what you promised" l repeated
getting up to stop him.


yes" he said, with his hand on the lock-
II have given my message Whatever hap
pens, remember that. Good afternoon"


He was gone before I could speak again.


I tried to call after him, but my speech sud
denly failed me. 1t was very foolish, it was
very unaccountable, but there was something
in the mans last words which had more than
half frightened me.


I looked at the clock. The minute hand
was on the quarter.


My office was just far enough from the
bank to make it necessary for me to decide
on the instant. If l had had time to think,
| am perfectly certain that sh ould not have
protited by the extraordinary warning that
had just been addressed to me. The suspici-
Gus appearance and manners of the stranger
the outrageous improbability of the inference
against the credit of the bank, toward which
his words pointed; the chance that some I'M
derstand attempt was being made, by some
enemy of mine, to frighten me into embroil-
ing myself with one of my best friends,
through showing an ignorant distrust Of the
firm with which he was associated as partner
all these considerations would unquestion-
ably have occurred to me if | could have had
time for reflection; and, as q necessary con-
sequence, not one farthing of my balance
would have been taken from the keeping of
the bank on that memorable day


AS it was, l had just time enough to act,
and not a spare moment for thinking. Some
heavy payments made at the beginning of
the week had 50 far decreased my balance
that the sum to my credit in the banking book
barely reached fifteen hundred pounds.
| snatched up my check book, wrote a
draft for the whole amount, and told one OF
my clerks to run to the bank and get it cash
ed before the doors closed. What impulse
of hurry and bewilderment | can't say
acted mechanically, under the influence of
the vague inexplicable fear which the mans
| extraordinary parting words had aroused in
me, without stopping to analyze my own
sensations-almost without knowing what
was about In the three minutes from the
time when the stranger had closed my door
the clerk had started for the bank, and was
alone again my room, with my hands as cold
as ice and my head all in a whirl.


l did not recover my control over myself
until the clerk came back with the notes IN
his hand He had just got to the bank in the
nick of time. AS the cash for my draft was
handed to him over the counter, the clock
struck five, and he heard the order given to
close the doors.


When | had counted the bank notes and
had locked them up in the safe, my better
sense seemed to come back to me on a sud-
den. Never have rcproaohed myself before
and since as | reproached myself at that mo-
ment. What sort of return had | made for
Mr.; Fauntleroys fatherly kindness to me? 1
had insulted him by the meanest, the grossest
distrust of the honor and the credit of his
house, and that on the word of an absolute
stranger, of a vagabond, if ever there was
one. 1t was madness-downrgh madness
in any man to have acted as | had done.
could hardly believe in it myself. opened
the safe and looked at the bank notes again
l locked it once more, and flung the key
down on the table in fury of vexation
against myself. There the money was, up
braiding me with my own inconcevable folly,
telling me in the plainest terms that had
risked depriving myself Of my best and
kindest friend henceforth and forever


1t was necessary to do something at once
toward making all the atonement that lay in
my power. felt that, as soon as began to
cool down little, there was but one plain,
raightforward way ynow left to get out of the
scrape in which had been mad enough to
involve myself. took my hat, and without
stopping an instant to hesitate, hurried off to
the bank to make clean breast of it to Mr..
Fauntleroy.


When [ knocked at the private door and
asked for him, was told that he had not been
at the bank for the last two days. One of the
other partners was there, however, and was
working at that moment in his own room.
l sent in my name at once and asked to see
him. He and l were little better than stran-
gers to each other, and the interview was
likely to be, on that account, unspeakablv
embarrassing and humiliating on my side
Still, I could not 60 home, could not endure
the inaction of the next day, the Sunday,
without having done my best on the spot to
repair the error into which my own folly had
led me. Uncomfortable as felt at the pros
pect Of the approaching interview, l should
have been far more uneasy in my mind if the