siasm was well aroused. "I can hardly wait till morning
before taking action in the matter."

XXXIII.

Mr. Rexford was very grateful to our young friend for the trouble he had
taken in working up this case.

"It hardly seems possible, Fred, that you should do so much for me,
after being treated as you were by me," he said warmly.

"I hope I have been able to do you a favor," returned Fred sincerely;
"and besides, it may prove of service to me."

"You have, indeed, done me a favor. And is this the way you seek
revenge?"

"I think it is the best sort of revenge."

"I believe you, Fred; but very few ever practise it."

"It is more satisfactory in the end, and moreover is right."

"Very true, but it is hard to act upon such a theory. Suppose Simmons is
guilty, should I forgive him and do him a kindness?"

"That would be quite a different case. His act would be crime, and
should, therefore, be punished. You could feel sorry for him, though,
that he had acted so unwisely."

"Yes, I think you are right," answered the merchant mechanically, while
his mind seemed to be struggling with another problem.

"Fred, I have wronged you cruelly," he continued, "and your generous
spirit has touched me as nothing else has since I was a boy like
yourself. I discharged you, practically accusing you of dishonesty, but
now I know you were innocent. Your reputation was so injured that you
could get no position in a store, and were obliged to seek employment in
the factory. Then I had you arrested, charged with the grave offense of
burning my store. Can you forgive me, Fred, for having wronged you so?"

"I can and will do so cheerfully," answered our hero, "for I believe you
acted from your honest belief at the time."

"Yes, I did, but I should have had more charity, and more consideration
for your welfare."

"It was a hard blow to me, I assure you. But tell me, have you found the
missing money?" asked Fred eagerly.

"Yes. It was not lost; and the amount--eighteen dollars--was right. The
error was in making change. It was my own mistake. An eccentric old
fellow, a farmer up in Martintown, had the money--the very same twenty
dollar bill. He said he gave me a five dollar bill and I handed back the
twenty dollar bill in change."

"Farmers usually count their change very carefully."

"Yes, and it seems he counted this after he got home. He said he put the
bill by itself in his wallet to keep until he had occasion to com