my lad," he said, with a pleasant smile full of sadness, "you ought
to pray that you might be always young and free from care. Good-day."

He nodded and passed out of the office, and I heard his steps in the
narrow lane.

I glanced at Esau, who was asleep still, then at the door of the inner
office, and started as I heard a cough and the rustling of a newspaper.
Then, gliding off my stool, I caught my cap from the peg where it hung,
slipped out at the swing-door, and saw our late visitor just turning the
corner at the bottom of the lane into Thames Street.

The next minute I had overtaken him, and he turned sharply with a joyful
look in his eyes.

"Ah!" he said, "my cousin has sent you to call me back?"

"No, sir," I stammered, with my cheeks burning; and there I stopped, for
the words would not come.

How well I remember it! We were close to the open door of a warehouse,
with the scent of oranges coming out strongly, and great muscular men
with knots on their shoulders, bare-armed, and with drab breeches and
white stockings, were coming up a narrow court leading to a wharf,
bearing boxes of fruit from a schooner, and going back wiping their
foreheads with their bare arms.

"You came after me?" said our visitor, with the old pained look in his
eyes, as he half turned from me, and I stood turning over something in
my hand.

"You came after me?" he said again; and as he once more looked in my
eyes, they seemed to make me speak.

"Yes, sir."

"Well, what is it? Speak out."

"I--I couldn't help hearing all you said to Mr Dempster, sir," I
faltered.

"Eh!" he cried, with a start. Then with a smile full of bitterness,
"Let it be a lesson to you, boy. Work--strive--do anything sooner than
humble yourself as I have done this day. But--but," he said, as if to
himself, "Heaven knows I was driven."

"Mr Dempster never will lend any one money, sir," I said hastily; "but
if you wouldn't mind--I don't want this for a bit. I've been saving it
up--for a long time--and--by and by--you can pay me again, and--"

I had stammered out all this and then stopped short, drawing my breath
hard, for he had seized my hand, and was gripping it so hard that the
coin I held was pressed into my fingers, as I gazed up into his face,
while he slowly relaxed his hold and looked down into my palm.

"A sovereign!" he said slowly; and then fiercely, "Did your employer
send you with that? And," he cried hastily, "you heard?"

"Ye