ed, he would argue, that the
boy had in him so strong a tendency to evil as the result had proved.
He had once been just as fond as Dick had shown himself to be of
bird's-nesting, dog-fighting, &c., but then, as soon as he had sown a
few wild oats, he sobered down into a steady and thrifty farmer of
regular habits. And he of course expected to see Dick Lawson do the
same.

"And who knows but that he has?" he would sometimes say, in an effort at
self-consolation.

It was some five or six years from the time Dick left the village, that
Mr. Acres was awakened one night from sleep by a dream that some one had
opened the door of the chamber where he slept. So distinct was the
impression on his mind that some one had entered, that he lay perfectly
still, with his eyes peering into the darkness around, in order to
detect the presence of any one, should the impression on his mind really
be true. He had lain thus, with every sense acutely active, for only a
moment or two, when a sound, as of a stealthy footstep, came distinctly
upon his ear, and at the same moment, a dark body seemed to move before
his eyes, as if crossing the room towards that part of it where stood a
large secretary, in which was usually contained considerable sums of
money.

Mr. Acres was a brave man, but thus suddenly awakened from sleep to find
himself placed in such an emergency, made him tremble. He continued to
lie very still, straining his eyes upon the dark moving object intently,
until the figure of a man became perfectly distinct. The robber, for
such the intruder evidently was, had now reached the secretary, where he
stood for a few moments, quietly endeavouring to open it. Finding it
locked, he moved off, and passed around the room, feeling every chair
and table that came in his way. This Mr. Acres could now distinctly
perceive, as his eyes had become used to the feeble light reflected from
the starry sky without. At last his hands came in contact with a chair
upon which the farmer had laid his clothes on disrobing himself for bed.
These seemed to be the objects of his search, for he paused with a quick
eager movement, and commenced searching the ample pockets of a large
waistcoat. The slight jingle of the farmer's bunch of keys soon
explained the movement. Before the robber had fairly gotten back to the
secretary, Mr. Acres's courage had returned, and with it no small share
of indignation. He rose up silently, but, unfortunately, as his foot
t