she had done twice before that day.

"Boo, hoo, hoo! O, dear me! I shall be killed!" cried she, so lustily,
that the well-dressed gentleman could not decently avoid inquiring the
cause of her bitter sorrow.

"I haven't sold out," sobbed Ann.

"What if you haven't? Why need you cry about it?" asked the stranger.

"My mother will kill me if I go home without half a dollar."

"She is a cruel woman, then."

"Boo, hoo, hoo! She'll beat me to death! O, dear me! I only got ten
cents."

"Why don't you fly round and sell your candy?" said the gentleman.

"I can't now, the folks have all gone, and it's almost dark. O, I wish
I was dead!"

"Well, well, don't cry any more; I'll give you half a dollar, and that
will make it all right;" and he put his hand in his pocket for the
money.

"Don't give it to her," said Katy, stepping out of the lane by the side
of the bank. "She has deceived you, sir."

"Deceived me, has she?" added the stranger as he glanced at Katy.

"Yes, sir. She has got more than a dollar in her pocket now."

"Don't you believe her," sobbed Ann, still prudently keeping up the
appearance of grief.

"How do you know she has deceived me?" asked the stranger, not a little
piqued, as he thought how readily he had credited the girl's story.

"Because I saw her play a trick just like this twice before this
afternoon. She has two half dollars in her pocket now, though one of
them is counterfeit."

"What do you mean by that, Katy Redburn?" demanded Ann, angrily, and
now forgetting her woe and her tears.

"You speak very positively," said the gentleman to Katy; "and if what
you say is true, something should be done about it."

"She is telling lies!" exclaimed Ann, much excited.

"We can soon determine, for here comes a policeman, and I will refer
the matter to him."

At these words, Ann edged off the steps of the bank, and suddenly
started off as fast as she could run, having, it seemed, a very
wholesome aversion to policemen. But she made a bad mistake, for, not
seeing in what direction the officer was approaching, she ran into the
very jaws of the lion.

"Stop her!" shouted the gentleman.

The policeman laid a rude hand upon her shoulder, and marched her back
to the bank. In a few words the gentleman stated what had happened, and
requested the officer to search her, and thus decide whether Katy told
the truth or not. He readily consented, and on turning out Ann's
pocket, produced the two half d