wever, shrinking did no good, and immediately the Mistress had
seated herself she began:

"What grieved me most was your suspicion of Ephraim. Dorothy, that
man's skin may be black but his soul is as white as a soul can be. He
has served me ever since he was able to toddle and I have yet to find
the first serious fault in him. The loss of the money was bad enough,
and your scant value of it bad. Why, child, do you know whose money
that was?"

"I--I thought it was--mine."

"It was--God's."

"Aunt--Betty!" almost screamed Dorothy in the shock of this statement.

"Yes, my dear, I mean it. He has given me a great deal of wealth but
it was His gift, only. Or, His loan, I might better call it. I have to
give an account of my stewardship, and as you will inherit after me,
so have you."

For a moment the girl could not reply, she was so amazed by what she
heard. Then she ventured to urge:

"You said you gave it to me for my House Party. How could it be like
that, then?"

"So I did. I 'passed it on,' as poor Hiram Bowen did the twins. Then
it became your responsibility. It was a trust fund for the happiness
of others, and for their benefit. Why, just think, if you hadn't been
so careless of it, how much good it would have done even yesterday,
for that very old man! Then dear Seth wouldn't have had to tax his
small income to pay for a stranger's keep. Ah! believe me, my Cousin
Seth spends money lavishly, but never unwisely, and always for others.
When I said 'dangerously angry' I meant it. I am, in some respects,
always in danger, physically. I shall pass out of your life quite
suddenly, some day, my darling, but I do not wish to do so by your
fault.

"Now, enough of lectures. Kiss me and tell me that hereafter you will
hold your inheritance as a 'trust,' and I shall trust you again to the
uttermost. Next I want you to go over every incident of that night
when you mislaid the money and maybe I can hit upon some clue to its
recovery."

It was a very sober Dorothy who complied. It didn't seem a very
pleasant thing to be an heiress. She had found that out before, but
this grave interview confirmed the knowledge; and though they
discussed the subject long and critically, they were no nearer any
solution of the mystery than when they began.

"Well, it is a strange and most uncomfortable thing. However, we can
do no more at present, and I'd like you to take a little drive with
me."

"This morning, Aunt Betty, in all t