his father was guilty, and he was in despair.

Mrs. Wilford had only heard that the money was lost, at first; and
then, from her husband, that it had been found and restored to the
owner. It was plain that he had told her a falsehood; that if he had
found the money, it was still in his possession. The case was too
plain to need much reflection. Mr. Randall and the sheriff knew less
than the ferryman, less than his wife and his son; but in the good
woman's estimation, it was far worse to be guilty than it was to be
detected.

It would be difficult to fathom the motives which induced John
Wilford to tell his wife and son that the money had been restored to
the owner. Perhaps he had some plan by which he hoped to escape
detection and punishment for his crime; or it may be that he told the
falsehood to satisfy Lawry for the present moment. His calculations,
whatever they may have been, were exceedingly stupid and ill
digested. There was an utter want of skill and judgment in his
operations. He was not a strong-minded man, and his guilt seemed to
have paralyzed his weak faculties. His failure to be rich in the path
of dishonesty was even more signal than his honest but weak efforts
in a legitimate business.

"What did he just say?" asked the sheriff, whose attention was
attracted by Mrs. Wilford's words, but more by the sharp manner of
her husband as he interrupted her.

"What is your business with me?" demanded the ferryman of the
sheriff, earnestly.