"

"He come to see me just when I were sickening, Mr. Sawyer, sir, and he
promised to keep things all straight and shipshape till I were right
again. So I sent off the wife to her folks--for her trouble--you know,
and then Joe he took me along to the h--orspital, and he said he'd keep
things all--"

"I see," said Mr. Sawyer; "and how's the wife?"

"She's A1, Mr. Sawyer, sir."

"And the baby?"

"He's a reg'lar little ripper, sir, and as straight as a lath."

There was more ingenuous pride packed into those last five words than
any five words ever held before; but the meek brown eyes shone suddenly
moist.

One of the Oxford boys started, "Three cheers for the baby! Hip, hip,
hurrah!--rah!!--rah!!!" And then they fell naturally into "He's a jolly
good fellow!" and yelled it at top of their voices, while they all
joined hands and danced round us till their faces were all on fire, and
all their pipes were out for want of breath to keep them going, and
William Scorer's eyes were like to fall out of his head. They did not
quite understand matters, but they saw there had been some mistake, and
they were all very healthy and very happy. They could not forget Joseph,
but they heartily forgave William for his brother's sins, and they vowed
they would not have missed the fun for three times the amount of
Joseph's little peculations.

"What's it all mean, Mr. Sawyer, sir?" asked the bewildered William.

"It means this, William, that that scamp of a brother of yours has let
this house of mine some sixteen times over to sixteen different people,
and all for about the same date, and that most of them have paid him a
deposit. Hence----" and he waved his hand comprehensively over the
throng.

"Nay,--sure--ly!" said the little man, and it seemed to me that his
stricken wonder was not absolutely untinged with admiration.

There was nothing more to be said or done. Everybody recognised that
fact. Joseph was not to be found, and William was not to blame.

The stout little gentleman vowed he'd be something'd if he'd ever heard
of such a something'd queer business before. The Strong Man looked
regretfully at William, and wished he was Joseph just for five minutes
or so. The solicitor recognised the fact that a case would not lie
against little "Dot-and-carry-one," as he called him, so he put it in
his pipe and smoked it, and by degrees the crowd thinned away, and left
us in peaceable possession. The last to go were the three lit