rfield,
and he could not, as some may think, have changed silver of his own for
it, for Mr. Furze paid him in gold, and there was not twenty shillings
worth of silver in the till; what _have_ you got to say? Do you tell me
all this may be accident and coincidence? If you do, we may just as well
give up reasoning and the whole of our criminal procedure."

Mr. Cardew did know the facts, _the_ facts, and relying on them he
delivered his judgment. Catharine, Phoebe, and Tom's father agreed with
him--four jurors out of one thousand of full age; but the four were right
and the nine hundred odd were wrong. In the four dwelt what aforetime
would have been called faith, nothing magical, nothing superstitious, but
really the noblest form of reason, for it is the ability to rest upon the
one reality which is of value, neglecting all delusive appearances which
may apparently contradict it.

Tom left Eastthorpe the next morning, and on that day Catharine received
the following letter from her mother:

"MY DEAR CATHARINE,--I write to tell you that we have made an awful
discovery. Catchpole has appropriated money belonging to your father,
and the evidence against him is complete. (Mrs. Furze then told the
story.) You will now, my dear Catharine, be able, I hope, to do
justice to your father and mother, and to understand their anxiety
that you should form no connection with a man like this. It is true
that on the morning when we spoke to you we did not know the extent of
his guilt, but we had suspected him for some time. It is quite
providential that the disclosure comes--at the present moment, and I
hope it will detach you from him for ever. Your father and I send our
love, and please assure Mr. and Mrs. Bellamy of our regard.

"Your affectionate mother,

"AMELIA FURZE."

On the same morning Mr. Furze received the following note from Mr.
Cardew:--

"DEAR SIR,--I regret to hear that a false charge has been preferred
against my friend Mr. Catchpole. By my advice he has left Eastthorpe
without any attempt to defend himself, but I consider it my duty to
tell you he is innocent; that you have lost a faithful servant, and,
what is worse, you have done him harm, not only in body, but in soul,
for there are not many men who can be wrongfully accused and remain
calm and resigned. You ask me on what evidence I acquit him. I know
the whole story, but I also know