u, mother," said Horace;
"for there's to be no more copying out manuscripts, mind, even if we all
go to the workhouse."

Mrs Cruden sighed. She knew her son was right, but the wolf was at the
door, and she shrank from becoming a useless burden on her boys'
shoulders.

"I wonder, Horace," said she, presently, "whether we could possibly find
less expensive quarters than these. They are--"

"Hullo, there's the postman!" said Horace, who had been looking from the
window; "ten to one there's a line from Harker."

And he flew down the stairs, just in time to see the servant-girl take a
letter from the box and put it in her pocket.

"None for us?" said he.

The girl, who till this moment was not aware of his presence, turned
round and coloured very violently, but said nothing.

"Show me the letter you put into your pocket just now," said Horace, who
had had experience before now in predicaments of this kind.

The girl made no reply, but tried to go back to the kitchen. Horace,
however, stopped her.

"Be quick!" said he. "You've a letter for me in your pocket, and if I
don't have it before I count twenty I'll give you in charge;" and he
proceeded to count.

Before he had reached ten the girl broke out into tears, and took from
her pocket not only the letter in question, but three or four others.

"There you are; that's all of them. I've done with it!" sobbed she.

Horace glanced over them in bewilderment. One was in Reginald's
writing, written three weeks ago; two were from himself to his mother,
written last week, and the last was from Harker, written yesterday.

"Why," exclaimed he, too much taken aback almost to find words, "what
does it mean? How do you come--"

"Oh, I'll tell you," said the girl; "I don't care what they do to me.
I'd sooner be sent to prison than go on at it. He told me to do it, and
threatened me all sorts of things if I didn't. Oh dear! oh dear!"

"Who told you?"

"Why, Mr Shuckleford. He said Mr Reginald was a convict, or
something, and if I didn't mind every letter that came to the house from
Liverpool I'd get sent to prison too for abetting him. I'm sure I don't
want to abet no one, and I can't help if they do lock me up."

"You mean to say Mr Shuckleford told you to do this?" said--or rather
roared--Horace.

"Yes, he did; and he had them all before that one," said the girl,
pointing to the letter from Reginald. "But he's never been for these,
and I didn't dare not t