Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work
But we'll see what can be done tomorrow. Call James
and have him sent home in the rig he's going to use. It seems to me
you're disposing rather freely of my horses and carts."
"Yes, Ken. You've nothing to say about your belongings just now. But if
you object to this plan--"
"I don't. The girl must be found, and her father is more likely to find
her than a dozen other searchers. He shall have the rig and welcome."
So it was that Will Rogers drove back to his heartbroken wife in a smart
top-buggy, with twenty dollars in his pocket and a heart full of wonder
and thanksgiving.
CHAPTER X
THE FORGED CHECK
Kenneth and Beth refrained from telling the other girls or Uncle John of
old Will Rogers's visit, but they got Mr. Watson in the library and
questioned him closely about the penalty for forging a check.
It was a serious crime indeed, Mr. Watson told them, and Tom Gates bade
fair to serve a lengthy term in state's prison as a consequence of his
rash act.
"But it was a generous act, too," said Beth.
"I can't see it in that light," said the old lawyer. "It was a
deliberate theft from his employers to protect a girl he loved. I do not
doubt the girl was unjustly accused. The Squierses are a selfish,
hard-fisted lot, and the old lady, especially, is a well known virago.
But they could not have proven a case against Lucy, if she was innocent,
and all their threats of arresting her were probably mere bluff. So this
boy was doubly foolish in ruining himself to get sixty dollars to pay an
unjust demand."
"He was soft-hearted and impetuous," said Beth; "and, being in love, he
didn't stop to count the cost."
"That is no excuse, my dear," declared Mr. Watson. "Indeed there is
never an excuse for crime. The young man is guilty, and he must suffer
the penalty."
"Is there no way to save him?" asked Kenneth.
"If the prosecution were withdrawn and the case settled with the victim
of the forged check, then the young man would be allowed his freedom.
But under the circumstances I doubt if such an arrangement could be
made.
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There was once an honest journeyman tailor, by name Labakan, who learned his trade with an excellent master in Alexandria. It could not be said that Labakan was unhandy with the needle; on the contrary, he could make excellent work: moreover, one would have done him injustice to have called him lazy. Nevertheless, his companions knew not what to make of him, for he would often sew for hours together so rapidly that the needle would glow in his hand, and the thread smoke, and that none could equal him.
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