for him to obtain the medal. Leo went to work upon
his studies with the same energy and determination he had brought to
bear upon the mouse business.

"Make or break!" said he; "I will catch up with my class."

Of course he succeeded, though between the shop and the books he had
nearly "broken;" for there was still a demand for mice, doves, rabbits,
and guinea pigs, and he added several dollars a week to the income of
his father. He worked too hard; and Maggie, seeing that he was likely
to "break," took upon herself the care of the menagerie and the sales,
in addition to the housework, which was really quite enough for a girl
of fifteen.

Maggie was a good housekeeper. Mindful of the traditions of the elders,
as the spring came on she commenced the semiannual operation of
house-cleaning. She went through the performance in the front room
first, and then devoted herself to the chamber over it, which was Leo's
room. According to her custom she took everything out of the closets,
bureau, chest, and table drawers. In the course of this ceremonial she
came to the chest in which Leo kept his clothes.

At the bottom she found the papers deposited there by "Mr. Hart," or
possibly Pilky Wayne, for it was not certainly known who committed the
robbery. There was quite a large bundle of them; and Maggie, inheriting
the propensity of Mother Eve, was, of course, anxious to know what they
were. She laid them on the table with other articles, and then opened
one of them. She saw the name of Mr. Checkynshaw.

She was terrified when she remembered that the banker's safe had been
robbed, and that Mr. Checkynshaw had come to the house with the
detective to see about it. She was not quite sure of the fact, but it
seemed to her that Leo had been suspected of being concerned in the
robbery. Here were the valuable papers, hidden away very carefully at
the bottom of Leo's chest. They must have been there at least three
months, and of course her brother knew they were there.

The longer she considered the matter, the more terrified she became. It
was awful to think that Leo had been concerned in a robbery. She was
not willing to believe it. If there were any good boys in the world,
Leo was one of them. He would cut his right hand off before he would do
a wicked thing. It was impossible for her to charge the dear fellow
with anything that looked like a crime.

She turned the papers over again. They were strange documents to her,
with grea