f you."

CHAPTER VII.

Henry had now to choose between his mother's advice, and Miss Carden's
commands; and this made him rather sullen and irritable. He was glad
to get out of his mother's house, and went direct to the works. Bayne
welcomed him warmly, and, after some friendly congratulations and
inquiries, pulled out two files of journals, and told him he had
promised to introduce him to the editor of the Liberal. He then begged
Henry to wait in the office, and read the files--he would not be gone
many minutes.

The Constitutional gave a dry narrative of the outrage, and mourned the
frequency of such incidents.

The Liberal gave a dramatic narrative, and said the miscreant must have
lowered himself by a rope from the parapet, and passed the powder inside
without entering. "He periled his life to perpetrate this crime; and he
also risked penal servitude for ten years. That he was not deterred by
the double risk, proves the influence of some powerful motive; and that
motive must have been either a personal feud of a very virulent kind, or
else trade fanaticism. From this alternative there is no escape."

Next day, both journals recorded a trade-meeting at "The Rising Sun."
Delegates from the Edge-Tool Forgers' Union, and the Edge-Tool Handlers'
Union, and some other representatives of Hillsborough Unions, were
present, and passed a resolution repudiating, with disgust, the outrage
that had been recently committed, and directed their secretaries to
offer a reward of twenty pounds, the same to be paid to any person
who would give such information as should lead to the discovery of the
culprit.

On this the Constitutional commented as follows:--"Although we never
for a moment suspected these respectable Unions of conniving at this
enormity, yet it is satisfactory to find them not merely passive
spectators, but exerting their energy, and spending their money, in a
praiseworthy endeavor to discover and punish the offenders."

Henry laid down the paper, and his heart felt very warm to Jobson and
Parkin. "Come," said he, "I am glad of that. They are not half a bad
sort, those two, after all."

Then he took up the Liberal, and being young and generous, felt
disgusted at its comment:

"This appears to be creditable to the two Unions in question. But,
unfortunately, long experience proves that these small rewards never
lead to any discovery. They fail so invariably, that the Unions do
not risk a shilling by pr