ly be disclosed, if for no other reason than to unburden the mind.

While both of Fred's parents regretted most deeply what had happened,
they felt proud to think that he had told the whole truth, without even
waiting to be questioned upon the subject.

If all boys would follow Fred's example in this respect whenever they
get into any trouble, they would not only retain the confidence of their
parents, but would receive the rewards of a clear conscience and an
unburdened heart.

IX.

There is something rather peculiar about the fact that troubles of any
sort never seem to come singly. This has been noticed by almost every
person of wide experience, and the idea is crystallized in the proverb:
"It never rains but it pours." The adage certainly held true in Fred's
case.

Only a few days after the occurrence related in the preceding chapter,
and when Fred had begun to feel a little more at ease in his mind, he
was called up sharply one night by his employer, who said to him:

"Fred, what have you done with the twenty dollar bill that was in this
drawer?"

"I have seen no such bill there to-day, sir," replied the clerk.

"You have seen no such bill, do you say? I took a new twenty dollar bill
of James D. Atwood this afternoon, when he settled his account, and I
put it in this drawer," pointing to the open cash drawer before him.

"It seems queer, sir; but I am sure that I have not paid it out or seen
it. Didn't you give it to Woodman and Hardy's man when you paid him
some money to-day?"

"No!" replied the merchant nervously, "he was here early in the
afternoon, before I took the bill. There has been no one to the cash
drawer but you and myself--unless you neglected your business and
allowed some scoundrel in behind the counter while I was at tea."

Fred flushed up at this intimation that he might have been false to his
trust, and replied, with some show of injured feeling:

"Mr. Rexford, if any money has been lost, I am sorry for you; but as I
said, I know nothing about it. You say you took in a twenty dollar bill,
and that now it is gone. If a mistake has occurred in making change, I
don't know why it should be laid to me any more than yourself, for I am
as careful as I can be."

"Do you mean to say, young man, that I have made a mistake of this size
in making change?"

"I simply say, there must be a mistake somewhere. Have you figured up
your cash account to know just how it stands?"

Mr. Rexfor