“I find it late. The speeches of these gentlemen are not without merit, not without interest, not without grace; yet if I may be excused I will take my leave. I thank you for the great favour which you have shown me in granting my petition. I ask the Chair to keep the sack for me until to-morrow, and to hand these three five-hundred-dollar notes to Mr. Richards.” They were passed up to the Chair. “At nine I will call for the sack, and at eleven will deliver the rest of the ten thousand to Mr. Richards in person at his home. Good-night.” Then he slipped out, and left the audience making a vast noise, which was composed of a mixture of cheers, the “Mikado” song, dog-disapproval, and the chant, “You are f-a-r from being a b-a-a-d man--a-a-a a-men!” IV. At home the Richardses had to endure congratulations and compliments until midnight. Then they were left to themselves. They looked a little sad, and they sat silent and thinking. Finally Mary sighed and said: “Do you think we are to blame, Edward--_much_ to blame?” and her eyes wandered to the accusing triplet of big bank-notes lying on the table, where the congratulators had been gloating over them and reverently fingering them. Edward did not answer at once; then he brought out a sigh and said, hesitatingly: “We--we couldn’t help it, Mary. It--well it was ordered. _All_ things are.” Mary glanced up and looked at him steadily, but he didn’t return the look. Presently she said: “I thought congratulations and praises always tasted good. But--it seems to me, now--Edward?” “Well?” “Are you going to stay in the bank?” “N--no.” “Resign?” “In the morning--by note.” “It does seem best.” Richards bowed his head in his hands and muttered: “Before I was not afraid to let oceans of people’s money pour through my hands, but--Mary, I am so tired, so tired--” “We will go to bed.” At nine in the morning the stranger called for the sack and took it to the hotel in a cab. At ten Harkness had a talk with him privately. The stranger asked for and got five cheques on a metropolitan bank--drawn to “Bearer,”--four for $1,500 each, and one for $34,000. He put one of the former in his pocket-book, and the remainder, representing $38,500, he put in an envelope, and with these he added a note which he wrote after Harkness was gone. At eleven he called at the Richards’ house and knocked. Mrs. Richards peeped through the shutters, then went and received the envelope, and the stranger disappeared without a word. She came back flushed and a little unsteady on her legs, and gasped out: “I am sure I recognised him! Last night it seemed to me that maybe I had seen him somewhere before.” “He is the man that brought the sack here?” “I am almost sure of it.”