,"
he said, "I'm grateful to you so far as that goes."

"I didn't run away from school," declared Eddy Carroll, looking
straight at Anderson, who fairly gasped.

He had seen people lie before, but somehow this was actually
dazzling. He was conscious of fairly blinking before the direct gaze
of innocence of this lying little boy. And then his elderly and
reliable clerk appeared in the office door, glanced at Eddy, whom he
did not know, and informed Anderson, in a slightly impressed tone,
that Captain Carroll was in the store and would like to speak to him.
Anderson glanced again at his young visitor, who had got, in a
second, a look of pale consternation. He went out into the store at
once, and was greeted by Carroll with the inquiry as to whether or
not he had seen his son.

"My boy has not been seen since he started for school this morning,"
said Carroll. "I came here because another little boy, one of my
son's small school-fellows, who has succeeded in treading the paths
of virtue and obedience, volunteered the information, without the
slightest imputation of any guilty conspiracy on your part, that you
had been seen leading my son home to your residence to dinner," said
Carroll.

"Your son made friends with me on his way from school this noon,"
said Anderson, simply, "and upon his evident desire to dine with me I
invited him, being assured by him that his so doing would not
occasion the slightest uneasiness at home as to his whereabouts."

Anderson was indignant at something in the other man's tone, and was
careful not to introduce in his tone the slightest inflection of
apology.

He made the statement, and was about to add that the boy was at that
moment in his office, when Carroll interrupted. "I regret to say that
my son has not the slightest idea of what is meant by telling the
truth. He never had," he stated, smilingly, "especially when his own
desires lead him to falsehood. In those cases he lies to himself so
successfully that he tells in effect the truth to other people. He,
in that sense, told the truth to you, but the truth was not as he
stated, for the ladies have been in a really pitiable state of
anxiety."

"He is in my office now," said Anderson, coldly, pointing to the door
and beginning to move towards it.

"I suspected the boy was in there," said Carroll, and his tones
changed, as did his face. All the urbanity and the smile vanished. He
followed Anderson with a nervous stride. Both men e