and Montagu accepted the invitation and they arrived together at
Fairholm on one of the early autumn evenings. They both greeted Eric
with the utmost affection; and he seemed never tired of pressing their
hands, and looking at them again. Yet every now and then a memory of
sadness would pass over his face, like a dark ripple on the clear
surface of a lake.

"Tell me, Monty," he said one evening, "all about what happened after I
left Roslyn."

"Gladly, Eric; now that your name is cleared, there is--"

"My name cleared!" said Eric, leaning forward eagerly. "Did you say
that?"

"Yes, Eric. Didn't you know, then, that the thief had been discovered?"

"No," he murmured faintly, leaning back again; "oh, thank God, thank
God! Do tell me all about it, Monty."

"Well, Eric, I will tell you all from the beginning. You may guess how
utterly astonished we were in the morning, when we heard that you had
run away. Wildney here was the first to discover it, for he went early
to your bedroom--"

"Dear little Sunbeam," interrupted Eric, resting his hand against
Wildney's cheek; but Wildney shook his fist at him when he heard the
forbidden name.

"He found the door locked," continued Montagu, "and called to you, but
there came no answer; this made us suspect the truth, and we were
certain of it when some one caught sight of the sheet hanging from your
window. The masters soon heard the report, and sent Carter to make
inquiries, but they did not succeed in discovering anything definite
about you. Then, of course, everybody assumed as a certainty that you
were guilty, and I fear that my bare assertion on the other side had
little weight."

Eric's eyes glistened as he drank in his friend's story.

"But, about a fortnight after, _more_ money and several other articles
disappeared from the studies, and all suspicion as to the perpetrator
was baffled; only now the boys began to admit that, after all, they had
been premature in condemning you. It was a miserable time; for every
one was full of distrust, and the more nervous boys were always afraid
lest any one should on some slight grounds suspect _them_. _Still_
things kept disappearing.

"We found out at length that the time when the robberies were effected
must be between twelve and one, and it was secretly agreed that some one
should be concealed in the studies for a day or two during those hours.
Carter undertook the office, and was ensconced in one of the big
cup