"Silence!" cried Rushbrook. "Yes," continued he, bitterly, to his wife, "this is your doing; you must send the boy after me, and now there will be evidence against me; I shall owe my death to you." "Oh, say not so! say not so!" replied Jane, falling down on her knees, and weeping bitterly as she buried her face in his lap; "but there is yet time," cried she, starting up; "Joey can go and fetch the bag. You will, Joey: won't you, dear? you are not afraid--you are innocent." "Better leave it where it is, mother," replied Joey, calmly. Rushbrook looked up at his son with surprise; Jane caught him by the arm; she felt convinced the boy had some reason for what he said-- probably some plan that would ward off suspicion--yet how could that be, it was evidence against them, and after looking earnestly at the boy's face, she dropped his arm. "Why so, Joey?" said she, with apparent calmness. "Because," replied Joey, "I have been thinking about it all this time; I am innocent, and therefore I do not mind if they suppose me guilty. The bag is known to be mine--the gun I must throw into a ditch two fields off. You must give me some money, if you have any; if not, I must go without it; but there is no time to be lost. I must be off and away from here in ten minutes; to-morrow ask every one if they have seen or heard of me, because I have left the house some time during the night. I shall have a good start before that; besides, they may not find the pedlar for a day or two, perhaps; at all events, not till some time after I am gone; and then, you see, mother, the bag which is found by him, and the gun in the ditch, will make them think it is me who killed him; but they will not be able to make out whether I killed him by accident, and ran away from fear, or whether I did it on purpose. So now, mother, that's my plan, for it will save father." "And I shall never see you again, my child!" replied his mother. "That's as may be. You may go away from here after a time, mother, when the thing has blown over. Come, mother, there is no time to lose." "Rushbrook, what say you--what think you?" said Jane to her husband. "Why, Jane, at all events, the boy must have left us, for, you see, I told Byres, and I've no doubt but he told the keeper, if he met him, that I should bring Joey with me. I did it to deceive him; and, as sure as I sit here, they will have that boy up as evidence against his father." "To be sure they will," cried Joey; "and what could I do? I dare not--I don't think I could tell a lie; and yet I would not peach upon father, neither. What can I do--but be out of the way?" "That's the truth--away with you, then, my boy, and take a father's blessing with you--a guilty father's, it is true; God forgive me. Jane give him all the money you have; lose not a moment: quick, woman, quick." And Rushbrook appeared to be in agony. Jane hastened to the cupboard, opened a small box, and poured the contents into the hands of Joey.