John Brancker's abrupt departure left Mr. Avison in no very enviable frame of mind. He was thoroughly dissatisfied with John; nay, more, as he told himself, he was deeply offended with him; but none the less was he conscious of a certain sense of dissatisfaction with himself. Although he had laid such stress on the fact that the trial had failed to clear up certain points of evidence which told strongly against John, and had brought forward that fact as an excuse for getting rid of him, and although he still failed to understand how the crime could possibly have been the work of a stranger, he was possessed by a secret conviction, which the recent interview had not failed to strengthen, that John Brancker was as innocent as he, Benjamin Avison, was of any participation either in the death of Mr. Hazeldine, or in the robbery which had formed part and parcel of the mysterious affair. Therefore he was dissatisfied with himself. The scales of justice which he prided himself on holding with such an even balance in his dealings with his fellows, inclined for once a little more to one side than the other, and he was conscious that their doing so was owing entirely to his own bias in the affair. Such thoughts were not comforting, and with a strong wrench he broke away from them. John Brancker had taken his own headstrong course, and he must abide by the consequences. "For the future, I wash my hands of him entirely," said Mr. Avison, as he touched the bell at his elbow. The death of Mr. Hazeldine and the enforced absence of John had necessitated several changes in the Bank staff. Such changes, however, in view of John's probable resumption of his duties, had only been of a makeshift and temporary character; but now the time had come for them to be made permanent. Mr. Avison had taken upon his own shoulders a great part of the duties of his dead manager. The next clerk to John Brancker in point of seniority was a Mr. Howes, who was a protégé of Mr. Avison, and, consequently, somewhat of a favorite, although no signs of his being so had ever been detected by the rest of the staff. Mr. Howes, who had performed John's duties while the latter was in prison, was now confirmed in the position at a considerable advance of salary. When he had given expression to his thanks and was dismissed, Ephraim Judd and Frank Derison were sent for.