WEALTH WITHOUT WINGS. 183

 

why may not I cut left and right when a good oppor-
tunity offers?”

Soon he began to “cut left and right,” as he
termed it, and it was not remarkable that, in his
cutting operations, his employer occasionally suf-
fered. The upshot was, after holding his situation
a year, that several false entries, in his hand-writ-
ing, were discovered in the books of Mr. Jasper. To
what extent he robbed his employer, the latter never
accurately knew; but he was worse off by at least
three or four thousand dollars through his pecula-
tions.

Again the question of taking Claire once more into
his employment came up in the mind of Jasper.
After viewing it on every side, the decision was ad-
verse. He felt that too great a risk was involved.
And so he employed one in whom he could confide
with less certainty.

Several years had now passed since the merchant
began to feel the shock of adverse winds. All be-
fore was a summer sea, and the ship of his fortune
had bent her sails alone to favouring breezes. But
this was to beno longer. His ship had suffered not
only by stress of weather, but also by the sacrifice
of a portion of cargo to save what remained. And, ,
at last, she was driving on toward the breakers, and
her safety from destruction only hoped for through
the activity, skill, and tireless vigilance of her
helmsman.

A few years before, Mr. Jasper considered him-
self worth between two and three hundred thousand
dollars; now, he passed sleepless nights in fear of
impending ruin. He had trusted in riches; he had