e, who do you think stole the
fifty thousand dollars?"

"I am sure I don't know," replied White.

"Well, I did! I stole it from the company, and have been able to keep it
so far. If you will assist me, I shall continue to do so. Would you have
stolen it if you had been in my place?"

"Certainly," exclaimed White; "do you think I am a fool? I shall make a
big pile in my operation."

"Then," said Maroney, "if we only join our forces, we shall make some
one howl."

Neither spoke for some minutes. White acted as if the matter was a
common, every-day occurrence; but he thought: "He has broken the ice; I
shall soon hear it all."

Maroney was the first to break the silence. He said: "I first stole ten
thousand dollars, which was brought to my office on Sunday, by the
messenger from Atlanta. This package was intended for a party in
Columbus, Ga. It had been missent, and forwarded by mistake to Atlanta,
instead of to Macon, and from Atlanta to me in Montgomery. My duty was,
on receipt of the package, to immediately telegraph to Atlanta of its
arrival, and to send it off by the train that left that evening for
Columbus. I had no right to the package, and should have immediately
re-billed it and sent it off. I was certain that no one knew that it had
been missent. It had evidently found its way into the pouch through a
mistake, as it was not marked on the way-bill, or its presence known to
the messenger. I never thought I should be guilty of theft till the
time; but the moment I saw the package it flashed into my mind that if I
took it I would never be detected. The temptation was too strong to be
withstood. I yielded to it, and without any one's seeing me, dropped the
package under the counter. The messenger did not see it, and as his
way-bill checked up all right, soon left the office. I watched my chance
and put the packet of money into my coat-pocket and went home.

"You see, White, that was my first offense, and I felt rather
frightened. I felt sorry that I had yielded to the temptation, but could
not part with the money, it seemed so completely to have infatuated me.
I took it home and hid it, but did not tell my wife a word about it. In
a short time despatches were sent all around to the different agents to
find, if possible, where the package was. I received several of them,
but reported that I had not seen or heard anything of it. I was so
assured of the impossibility of my detection that I had lost all the
fears