84 DEKPER AND DEFPER.

Oncé or twice before, Mr. Isaacs had found some
deficiency ; Mr. Osborne had never even suspected it ;
he would as soon have thought of his wife robbing
him as Williams.

The money was taken and dropped into the waist-
coat pocket ; the safe was locked, and double-locked.
If he could have seen his own face at that moment
he would have started. But he did not ; and, rallying
himself, he put out the shop-lights, and went into
the back-parlour, where the candles were burning
dimly with long, unsnuffed wicks, for poor Mr. Isaacs
was gone to bed.

There was nobody in the room; it was almost a
shock to be thus thrown, as it were, upon himself and
his own conscience.

“ Suppose,” thought he to himself, “‘ that, after all,
I have only taken silver, two shillings and sixpence ;
should I then go back and change them, though I
know what a horror this stealing is? I wish one had
no need to do it!”

He put his hand into his pocket and drew the
money forth to the light. It was gold—two guineas
and a half. He felt glad that it was so. The
next moment Reynolds returned—the gay, laughing,
unanxious Reynolds—Williams envied him his light-
ness of heart.

The next morning the church-bells rang ; the sun
shone bright, and the slight covering of snow and
hoar-frost was like the festal garment of nature. The
houses were decked with holly and ivy, people were
moving briskly about—the whole town was merry ;
even the paupers in the parish workhouse arose that
morning with cheerful expectation, for that day they
were to have roast-beef and plum-pudding for dinner.