THE BOY WHO STOLE THE NAILS. 95

ever, to do this at once. SoIhid them away
for a week or more, before I ventured to make
my box.

Taking such leisure hours as I had,—for I
was obliged to work most of the time on the
farm,—I crept away in the loft of an old build-
ing, and finally succeeded in finishing my task.
But, now that the box was done, my troubles
were by no means ended. It would be seen.
I could not always keep it out of sight. My
brothers, and sisters, and playmates, would ex-
amine it, and possibly my father would get his
eye upon it! Suppose he should, — ~ me
where those nails came from?

O, how my poor brain was racked to invent
some false story by which I could escape detec-
tion! I thought of saying that they were old
ones which I had polished up so as to appear
new, and I even filed down the rust on the head
of an old nail to see if they would look suf-
ficiently alike. But nothing of this kind would
answer. The cheat, I thought, would be de-
tected; and sc I was obliged, after all my trouble
and suffering, to keep my box hidden away when
it was done. Every time I went to look at it,
those bright new nail-heads were staring out at
me, ready to reveal my crime to any one who
saw them.

S*