her?"

"Why, yes, if it's all the same to you."

By this time Alfred was shortening the stirrup straps to the length of
his limbs as measured by his arms. Alfred's thinking gear was working
faster than the white mare's hoofs ever pounded the earth. As he was
about to mount he said: "Mr. Thornton, I'll bring this mare home. I
don't want to trouble you to call at our house."

[Illustration: Joe Thornton and Alfred]

"Why? I want to see your parents and I want to reward you."

Alfred, sitting on the horse's back, leaned far over toward the man and
detailed the sad results of his first venture in minstrelsy.

"Whatever you give me will be applied on the payment of my debts. If our
folks know that you gave me money they'll want to know what I did with
it."

The man grasped the situation, but informed Alfred the money in the book
belonged to his mother. He had withdrawn it from the bank to pay a note.
He would help Alfred out but must go to town before he could do so.

"From whom did you borrow money," asked Mr. Thornton.

Alfred hesitated and said: "Well, there's where I made another promise
not to tell, but I'm going to tell you, I borrowed it from Sammy
Steele."

"Well, I'll be damned if you ain't a good one. Why, Sammy Steele is the
tightest man in Brownsville. How did you come to go to him?"

Alfred explained all. Mr. Thornton insisted that he ride the white mare
home, adding that he would get her that night. Alfred rode off, visiting
not only the school-house but many old friends. He arrived home as it
was growing dark.

Entering the house he found Mr. Thornton there; he had told the family
all. He informed Alfred that he had left an order on Jake Walters, the
town tailor, for a suit of clothes, the material to be selected by the
bearer.

While the clothes were more than acceptable, Alfred was disappointed. He
feared he would not be in a position to pay the Sammy Steele note,
although he was bending every energy, even dunning Harrison for the
fifty cents loaned him at their first meeting.

The next week's issue of the _Brownsville Clipper_ contained a lengthy
article, as follows:

"One of Fayette County's most prominent citizens lost a
pocket-book containing a large amount of money and valuable
papers. The book was lost on the old pike somewhere between the
borough line and Thornton's lane. Fortunately for the loser, one
of the CLIPPER'S most trusted employes traveling on the pike