"Oh, it was a mistake, of course," said Reuben; "you know he is new to the place, and has not got used to his work. You'll have time to run and set it right,—the train's not up yet." "Bless you! I shall not trouble myself about it," said Owen, coolly putting the money in his pocket; "if he likes to make me a present of threepence, he is welcome to do so." "But, Owen, you know he did not mean to give it to you, and he will have to make it good out of his own pocket. You can't mean to take advantage of his mistake?" "I do mean it. He should keep a sharper look out. It will be a lesson for him." "And you will do a dishonest thing. It's worse for you, after all." "What do you mean? I did not steal the money." "No, but if you keep it, when you know it is not yours, it is pretty much the same thing, I think," replied Reuben. At that moment Mr. Howe caught sight of the boys, and came down the platform to speak to them. "So you're leaving by this train, Owen," he said, as he shook hands with him, "and Reuben has come to see you off. That's right. But I must not stay. Good-bye to you both." And he hurried away as the train came up. Owen, too, moved off quickly to secure a seat. He leaned out of the carriage window to advise Reuben to make haste and follow him to town that he might get "smartened up a bit." Then the train moved on, and as it passed out of the station, Reuben caught one last glimpse of Mr. Howe. He went off to his day's work feeling heavy-hearted. He had lost a friend in Mr. Howe. He was sure there could never be another superintendent so good. And Owen, too, he would miss, but he was not altogether sorry that he had gone away. It was a slight shock to Reuben to discover how lax were Owen's notions of honesty. And only yesterday he had appeared as one of the best scholars in the Sunday-school! What would Mr. Howe think if he knew how Owen had kept the threepence, Reuben wondered. [Illustration] CHAPTER III. THE WAYS OF TOWN. ABOUT a fortnight after Owen's departure, Reuben followed him to Birmingham. The smoky atmosphere, the dingy, dusty streets were a poor exchange in the warm summer days for the fresh air and rural beauty of Ashworth. For a little while the bustle and stir of the town had the charm of novelty for Reuben. But the excitement of the change was soon over, and in the midst of crowds of workers of all descriptions Reuben's heart sickened with a dreary sense of loneliness. He would scan the faces of those he passed as he went along the streets, but every one was a stranger to him, and there was no friendliness in the glances he met.