"You are very kind, and I shall always remember it." "Lawyers are not always mercenary, though they have that reputation with some. I should like, by the way, to find out who did steal the bill." "So should I. I have no idea for my part." "If you ever find out, let me know. I go back to New York to-morrow, and am glad to leave the memory of a professional triumph behind me." "What is your address, Mr. Conway?" "No. 111 Nassau Street, Room 15. Here is my card. When you come to New York, call and see me." "I shall do so, though it may be some time in the future. Do you think I could get anything to do in New York?" "Yes; but perhaps not enough to pay your expenses." "I find the same trouble here." "You have been at work in the shoe factory, I believe." "Yes; but I have been discharged. My place has been taken by a machine." "That is unfortunate. Is there no other opening in Lakeville?" "I have not found any yet." "I will keep your case in mind, and if I hear of anything I will let you know." When Squire Marlowe returned home from the trial, his wife inquired with interest, "How did the case come out?" "The boy was acquitted," answered her husband shortly. "Acquitted! Why, you thought it was a close case." "So I did, but it came out on the trial that there were two twenty-dollar bills, and the one which the Barton boy presented was left for him by Uncle Jacob." "By that old man? Why, I thought he was poor." "So he is--worth only five hundred dollars, and he is making ducks and drakes of that as fast as he can." "And then he will fall back on you?" "I suppose so." "Then I hope you will let him go to the poor house," said Mrs. Marlowe with energy. "I shall. I have no pity for a man who throws away his money." Percy came home to dinner in lively spirits. He was free from anxiety, and felt that he had been remarkably fortunate. "Were you at the trial, Percy?" asked his mother. "No, ma." "I thought you would be interested in seeing that boy on trial." "I was sorry for him, and didn't want to be present." "Sorry for him?" "Yes; I felt sure he had not taken the money." "Seems to me this is a new streak, Percy," said the squire. "I thought you didn't like Bert Barton." "I am not intimate with him, for he is only a working boy; but all the same I don't want him convicted when he is innocent." "It is a mystery to me who could have taken the other twenty-dollar bill," said the squire. "Can you think of anybody?" "No; how should I?" returned Percy, nearly swallowing a spoonful of soup the wrong way. "There are so few people in the village, that it must be some one we know." "Perhaps old Jones didn't lose any money, after all." "There is no doubt on that point. The stolen bill has been returned to him in an envelope by Sam Doyle." "Is that so?" exclaimed Percy, counterfeiting surprise. "Why, it must be the same envelope Sam showed me." "He showed you the envelope?"