beginning to turn, and when we
got near the house which I mentioned, I noticed that there was no light
in it. When we were about opposite to it father suddenly looked up and
said, not speaking very loud, 'By George! if that isn't Williamson
Green's house. I wasn't thinking of it when we rowed up, and passed it
without taking notice of it. I am sorry for that, for I wanted to see
Williamson, and now I expect he has gone to bed.'

"'Who is Mr. Green?' I asked.

"'He is an old friend of mine,' said my father, 'and I haven't seen him
for some little while now. About four months ago he borrowed of me a
sextant, quadrant, and chronometer. They were instruments I took from
old Captain Barney in payment of some work I did for him. I wasn't
usin' them, and Williamson had bought a catboat and was studying
navigation; but he has given up that fad now and has promised me over
and over to send me back my instruments, but he has never done it. If
I'd thought of it I would have stopped and got 'em of him; but I didn't
think, and now I expect he has gone to bed. However, I'll row in shore
and see; perhaps he's up yet.'

"You see, ma'am," said the speaker to my wife, "I'm tellin' you all
these particulars because I am very anxious you should understand
exactly how everything happened on this night, which was the
turning-point of my life."

"Very good," said Aunt Martha; "we want to hear all the particulars."

"Well, then," continued the burglar, "we pulled up to a stone wall which
was at the bottom of Green's place and made fast, and father he got out
and went up to the house. After a good while he came back and said that
he was pretty sure Williamson Green had gone to bed, and as it wouldn't
do to waken people up from their sleep to ask them for nautical
instruments they had borrowed, he sat down for a minute on the top of
the wall, and then he slapped his knee, not making much noise, though.

"'By George!' he said, 'an idea has just struck me. I can play the
prettiest trick on Williamson that ever was played on mortal man. Those
instruments are all in a box locked up, and I know just where he keeps
it. I saw it not long ago, when I went to his house to talk about a
yacht he wants built. They are on a table in the comer of his bedroom.
He was taking me through the house to show me the improvements he had
made, and he said to me:--

"'"Martin, there's your instruments. I won't trouble you to take them
with you, because they're h