air again. "How dare he make such a charge. I won't even argue it with him;
it's too ridiculous."

He had cooled down somewhat after walking aimlessly and excitedly about the
garden a round or two. When he came again to the front of the house, Samuel
Mace was departing from the scene. As he caught sight of Frank he waved his
cane angrily at him with the words:

"I'll see about this, young man!"

Frank went into the house to find his aunt locking up the secretary in the
library, just as she did when there was a burglar scare in town. Her very
glance and manner accused Frank, and he could scarcely restrain himself
from arguing with her. Then he remembered his promise to his absent parents
and that Miss Brown was a credulous, suspicious old maid. He tried to
forget his troubles by going after his fishing-rod. This he had left at the
spot near the river where he had met Ned Foreman. Frank swung along
whistling recklessly, but he did not feel at all pleasant or easy.

He had returned from his errand and was putting in a miserable enough time
feeding some pet pigeons when a voice hailed him from the fence railings.

"Hey, Frank--this way for a minute."

Frank recognized a friend and crony of Samuel Mace. This was pompous, red-
faced Judge Roseberry. He had once been elected by mistake a justice of the
peace, had never gotten a second term, but for some eight or ten years had
traded on his past reputation. He managed to eke out a living by giving
what he called legal advice at a cheap rate, and mixing in politics.
Sometimes he collected bills for the tradesmen of the town, and in this way