"You didn't find the house!" exclaimed the doctor, in angry surprise. "Why didn't you?" "I thought it wasn't any use," stammered Sam. "Wasn't any use!" repeated the chiropodist. "Explain yourself, sir, at once." "As long as I hadn't got the letter," proceeded Sam. Now the secret was out. "What did you do with the letter?" demanded Dr. Graham, suspiciously. "I lost it." "Lost it! How could you lose it? Did you know there was money in it?" said his employer, looking angry and disturbed. "Yes, sir; you said so." "Then why were you not careful of it, you young rascal?" "I was, sir; that is, I tried to be. But it was stolen." "Who would steal the letter unless he knew that it contained money?" "That's it, sir. I ought not to have told anybody." "Sit down, and tell me all about it, or it will be the worse for you," said the doctor. "Now for it!" thought Sam. "You see, sir," he commenced, "I was in the horse-cars in Brooklyn, when I saw a boy I knew. We got to talking, and, before I knew it, I told him that I was carryin' a letter with money in it. I took it out of my coat-pocket, and showed it to him." "You had no business to do it," said Dr. Graham. "No one but a fool would show a money-letter. So the boy stole it, did he?" "Oh, no," said Sam, hastily. "It wasn't he." "Who was it, then? Don't be all day telling your story," said the doctor, irritably. "There was a young man sitting on the other side of me," said Sam. "He was well-dressed, and I didn't think he'd do such a thing; but he must have stole the letter." "What makes you think so?" "He got out only two or three minutes afterwards, and it wasn't long after that that I missed the letter." "What did you do?" "I stopped the car, and went back. Jim went back along with me. We looked all round, tryin' to find the man, but we couldn't." "Of course you couldn't," growled the doctor. "Did you think he would stay till you came up?" "No, sir. That is, I didn't know what to think. I felt so bad about losing the money," said Sam, artfully. Now this story was on the whole very well got up. It did not do credit to Sam's principles, but it did do credit to his powers of invention. It might be true. There are such men as pickpockets to be found riding in our city horse-cars, as possibly some of my readers may have occasion to know. As yet Dr. Graham did not doubt the story of his young assistant. Sam came very near getting off scot-free. "But for your carelessness this money would not have been lost," said his employer. "You ought to make up the loss to me." "I haven't got any money," said Sam. A sudden thought came to Dr. Graham. "Empty your pockets," he said. "How lucky I put the bills in my stocking!" thought Sam. He turned out his pockets, disclosing fifty cents. It was Friday, and to-morrow his weekly wages would come due. "That's all I've got," he said. "Twenty dollars is five weeks salary," said Dr. Graham. "You ought to work for me five weeks without pay."