"Don't say a word, my dear madam," said the squire in a sympathetic tone. "I feel for you, indeed I do. To prove it, I will head a subscription to make up to your husband a part of his loss. I will put down fifty dollars." "You are very kind, Squire Bates. How can I thank you?" "Don't thank me at all, but rest assured that I will do all I can for Mr. Dunham, notwithstanding his strange delusion respecting myself." "That's clever stroke number two," thought the squire, as he rode homeward. "I think I have thoroughly disarmed suspicion now." CHAPTER X. THE MISSING SLEEVE BUTTON. Squire Bates was as good as his word. He drew up a subscription paper, and headed it with a subscription of fifty dollars, and went through the village with it. At the end of three days he came again to Adin Dunham's plain home, and handed Mrs. Dunham a hundred and fifty dollars. "It won't make up your husband's loss," he said, "but it is better than nothing. I wish I could afford to give more myself." "How kind you are, Squire Bates!" said Mrs. Dunham, weeping softly. "God has indeed raised up a friend for us in our time of trouble." "Don't make too much of my poor service, Mrs. Dunham," said the squire modestly. "It is a great deal easier for me to give fifty dollars than for your husband to lose a thousand." "True; but you are very kind, all the same." When Mrs. Dunham told Adin what the squire had done, he kept silence for a moment, and was obviously perplexed. "I don't understand it," he murmured. "I hope, now, Adin, you will give up the ridiculous idea that the squire robbed you," said his wife. "I can't," said Adin. "I saw him with these very eyes. I saw those long teeth of his just as plain as I see you this minute. It's very queer. I can't understand it." "Oh, Adin! I did hope you would get this out of your head. It almost seems as if your mind was upset." "Perhaps it is, but I can't give up the idea that the squire took my thousand dollars." "It stands to reason, Adin, that if he had, he wouldn't have taken all this trouble to raise money for you. Why, he gave fifty dollars out of his own pocket." "Did fifty dollars of this money come from the squire?" "Yes. Just look at his name on the paper. His name is the very first one on it." "Then," said Adin Dunham, carefully counting out fifty dollars from the roll of bills which had been placed in his hand, "I'll give back the money to you to do what you like with. The other money came from my friends and neighbors, and I'll keep it. But the squire's money I don't want." "I'm afraid you are very obstinate, Adin. Why shouldn't the squire's money be as good as anybody's?" "I don't want to put myself under any obligations to him," said Adin, stiffly. "You are willin' I should keep the money?" "Do as you please, Sarah. Only don't let me hear any more of it."