owled
fiercely.

"Strange look for an honest, kindly man," thought Mr Jack, "but we must
never judge from the outward appearance;" then he said aloud, "I went to
see her about that bank failure--"

"Ha!" growled Mr Black, interrupting, "but for that woman, and that--"
he checked himself and said, "but you came here on some matter of
business, I suppose. Will you state it?"

"A very eccentric man indeed, remarkably so, for a kindly, honest man,"
thought Mr Jack; but he only said, "I came here to consult you about
the investment of two thousand pounds--"

"Oh! indeed," said Mr Black, in quite an altered tone, as he rose and
politely offered his visitor a chair.

"But," continued Mr Jack, rebuttoning his greatcoat which he had partly
opened, "but, sir, I have changed my mind, and bid you good-day."

So saying, he went out, leaving Mr Black standing at the door in stupid
amazement and his dirty clerk agonising with suppressed laughter behind
his desk. Mr Black had been groaning and growling all the day at the
thoughts of the ruin which had overtaken him--thoughts which were
embittered by the knowledge that he had drawn it on himself through the
instrumentality of Mrs Niven. The climax of Mr Jack's visit did not
tend to restore him. Recovering from his amazement, and observing the
condition of the clerk, he suddenly hurled the cash-book at him.
Cleverly dodging it, the dirty little creature bolted from the office,
and banged the door behind him.

Meanwhile Mr Jack cashed his last bill of exchange, returned home, and
presented his wife with a bag of gold, which she deposited in the
darkest recesses of the great family chest.

"That bank gives no interest," said John Jack, with a quiet chuckle, as
he superintended the deposit, "but we shall always have the interest of
knowing that it is there."

Long afterwards Mr Wilkins sought to combat Mr Jack's objection to
invest in another Scotch bank. "This disaster," he said, "ought not to
be called a bank _failure_; it is a bank _robbery_ committed by its own
directors, as has been clearly proved, and no more touches the credit of
Scotch banks in general than the failure of a commercial house, through
the dishonesty of its principals, affects the other commercial houses of
the kingdom."

"It may be as you say, sir," replied John Jack, gravely, "an' if it was
my own money I might act on your advice. But I intend to take care of
what's left of the dear boy's money mys