Year: 1876

W "
counting.room, when | accidentally drop
ped in there on the afternoon of that Sth
day, was the very letter. / left that let
ter, with the money in it-and now, what
had become of it2 learned to my per-
feet satisfaction that after went out on
that afternoon no one else entered the
counting-room until Sayers came in
There was but one conclusion before me
George Sayers must have taken the mon
ey! And thus l reasoned:


"When my clerk came in, and found
those letters upon the desk, he supposed
that the boy had left them there; and he
did not dream that had been there be-
fore him. When refolded the letter i
must have brought the parts of the wa
fer SO nicely together, that my clerk did
not notice that the seal had been broken.
When his eve rested upon that money,
how easy for him to take it, and destroy
the letter, and, in case it was missed, to
lay tue blame upon tie mail, for the mail
cid sometimes make mistakes. 1t ap-
peared to me an absolutely certainty that
the money must have so gone. And
this was not all. / learned that George
had recently been spending considerable
money in repairing his mothers house,


''In the evening, after all Others had
gone, and the outer doors had been
closed, called George into the count
ing room and once more asked him con
cerning that letter and that money He
paled and trembled, and declared that he
knew nothing OF it. ] told him how I
had seen that very letter, and how l had
left it upon the desk with other letters.
The other letters were all accounted for,
but not that one. Still be declared that
he knew nothing of it. told him that
he had been spending considerable mon
ley of late. He started as though / had
struck him. =.


"Mr. LAWSON" he said, his whole
frame quiveiing with excitement, what
money have used was honestly mine.


81 asked him where he obtained it,


"Never mind," he quickly answered.
And then he informed me that he would
answer no question outside OF the store
while such charge was resting upon
him. He declared that he had served
me truly aud faithfully; and that he had
taken pleasure in so doing; and he won
dered how could accuse him of such q
thing. f- as.9E


81 remember that gave him a stern
answer, and he, in return, ,vindicated him.
self in manner that offended me.
became impatient and demanded that he
should make restitution. 1 know that
my manner was naughty and oyerbea--
ling, and the youth resented it. In the
end ! informed him that / needed his
services no more; and told him that
out of consideration for the feelings of
his mother and sister, l should not bring
him to justice. In short, l turned him
| from my csnnlov. apff the cause Of nv
so doing could not be hidden from the
people of the town. / cannot tell you
what he said to me. With one breath he


would plead his innocence in tears; and


with another breath he would denounce


me in bitterest terms for my treatment
of him.


"Mrs Sayers came to me to plead for
her boy; bat she had no power to make
me waver in my determination ex
planned to her the evidence had of his
dishonesty; and though she could not
believe her son guilty, still she could not
tighten the weight of the testimony
against him. .bs a,54


Il engaged new clerk, and put the
missing five hundred dollars to profit
and loss.' Sometimes wondered if, by
any means, George Sayers could be in
nocent But / could not see it. Ny
new clerk was not worth half as much
for business as George had been, and j
doubted if could find another to fill the
place as it had been filled. 3 rdol 7
l"Of course / could not be ignorant of
the movements of young Savers after he
left my store. At the end of month
he found employment in distant tow !;
but be did not remain there long. The
story of his disgrace finally followed


him, and he was discharged. He came
home and tried to work on q farm, but
his health failed him, and he was sick


nearly all the following winter. In the
spring his mother came to me and asked
me if / could not help her boy. She


said he was entirely broken down in


spirit, and she feared some worse fate
might befall him. But l would not put


forth my hand until George. would &C


knowledge his error. II he would come


forward and confess his crime,and prom


ise some sort of restitution, might do


something for him The widow turned
from me sad and mortified; / knew that


she suffered and 1 knew that George


Savers was in danger of the vine. cup.
But what could du2 I had taken my


stand, and could not depart from it.
I'm the month Of May l made up my


mind that woald take partner. ! did


not find a clerk to suit me, and i fancied
THAT could do better to take in a man


who would feel an equal interest with


me-, My brother,in-law was anxious to
tcome in, and partial arrangements were


made to that effect. / took an account


Of all my stock; and then / went into
Imy counting room to overhaul my pri
yate papers. In the pigeon holes of ms


cabinet were letters which had been &C
formulating for two or three years, and
thought it about time to destroy those
which were of no use; and one evening
III sat down to the work. BY and by


came across some old letters from {
, friend in South Carolina. One Of thes,
4 recognized by the superscription, ant
as / took it apart from my fellows, !
found that another letter adhered to il
i In fact, SO tightly did the two letter
+ stick together that / was forced to tea
; the paper in separating them. As tn
: second letter was turned to, the light
| recognized in the superscription the han
of my agent, Gibson. opened it, ant
: found something more. ] found fiv
D hundred dollars five one-hundred- dolla
e bank notes! The letter bore the pos'
mark Of Montpelier, and by the posi-
! mark of the letter which had been stitch


ling to it, /, knew that both had been re
e ceived at our Office the same day.


5 SAT first was thunderstruck, ,and the
[ | followed a season of beWilderment br