“Willie,” he said, “shake hands. The boy that just left this office is the thief that stole my papers. Your honesty is absolutely proved. I want to congratulate you. You have borne yourself splendidly during this ordeal. You will reap your reward, for you now have my absolute confidence.” CHAPTER XV A WATCH ON A DIAMOND SMUGGLER Relieved of the last shadow of suspicion, and with the confidence of his superior made plainer every day, Willie applied himself with increased energy to his tasks. Again it was fortunate for Willie that there were no other boys in the office. His feeling during the first few days after the arrest of Tom Smith was one of exultation, of almost irrepressible joy. He wanted to shout and whistle and express his feelings in noise and physical action. But there was no one to share his feelings with him. The office force consisted wholly of grown men, mostly of staid and sober habits. Of necessity, Willie had to repress his spirits in some way. The only outlet appeared to be in work. So Willie worked harder than ever. Perhaps it was fortunate for him that the office force was so crowded with work. There were innumerable tasks that rightfully belonged to the office boy. Willie had to run errands, carry papers, make trips to the Appraisers’ Stores, send wireless messages for his Chief, meet visitors at the gate, and do many other things, in the course of his regular work. But Willie was quick in his movements, and still quicker in thought. He was continually studying how to save time, and as a result he saved time. So, despite all the regular tasks that fell to his lot, he was able to do some that could by no possibility have been considered part of an office boy’s work. At high school he had studied bookkeeping and some kinds of clerical work, and now he found this training of the greatest use. He volunteered to do such clerical work as he had time to do. At first, the hard pressed clerks permitted him to do a few unimportant tasks. Then, finding that he did these correctly and with perfect comprehension of the work, they trusted him with more important jobs. Before many weeks had gone by, Willie had added to his own tasks considerable clerical work. To be sure, the amount of such work he could do was not huge, yet the assistance he gave relieved the clerks greatly. For all this extra work Willie received not a cent. But he was richly paid, none the less. He won the friendship and good-will of every man in the office, his employer began to prize him highly, and Willie himself gained immensely in knowledge of the work of the department. He was laying by a store of knowledge that would some day be of the greatest use to him. In short, he was doing just what a little tree does when it makes roots, or what masons do before the carpenters start to erect a building. He was making a foundation, and making a good one.