parted on horseback for Southberry after an
early breakfast, and after hurriedly despatching his own, Cargrim had
hastened to the library. Here, as he expected, he found the cheque-book
carelessly left in an unlocked drawer of the desk, and on looking over
it he found that one of the butts had been torn out. The previous butt
bore a date immediately preceding that of Dr Pendle's departure for
London, so Cargrim had little difficulty in concluding that the bishop
had drawn the next cheque in London, and had torn out the butt to which
it had been attached. This showed, as the chaplain very truly thought,
that Dr Pendle was desirous of concealing not only the amount of the
cheque--since he had kept no note of the sum on the butt--but of hiding
the fact that the cheque had been drawn at all. This conduct, coupled
with the fact of Jentham's allusion to Tom Tiddler's ground, and his
snatch of extempore song, confirmed Cargrim in his suspicions that
Pendle had visited London for the purpose of drawing out a large sum of
money, and intended to pay the same over to Jentham that very night on
Southberry Heath. With this in his mind it was no wonder that Cargrim
preached a stirring sermon. He repeated his warning text over and over
again; he illustrated it in the most brilliant fashion; and his appeals
to those who had secret sins, to confess them at once, were quite
heartrending in their pathos. As most of his congregation had their own
little peccadilloes to worry over, Mr Cargrim's sermon made them quite
uneasy, and created a decided sensation, much to his own gratification.
If Bishop Pendle had only been seated on his throne to hear that
sermon, Cargrim would have been thoroughly satisfied. But, alas! the
bishop--worthy man--was confirming innocent sinners at Southberry, and
thus lost any chance he might have had of profiting by his chaplain's
eloquence.

However, the congregation could not be supposed to know the secret
source of the chaplain's eloquence, and his withering denunciations were
supposed to arise from a consciousness of his own pure and open heart.
The female admirers of Cargrim particularly dwelt in after-church gossip
on this presumed cause of the excellent sermon they had heard, and when
the preacher appeared he was congratulated on all sides. Miss Tancred
for once forgot her purse story, and absolutely squeaked, in the highest
of keys, in her efforts to make the young man understand the amount of
pleasure he