ments of a compromising character had been found on his person;
congratulated the city on the improved condition of Captain Farnham;
and, trusting in the sagacity and diligence of the authorities,
confidently awaited from them a solution of the mystery. Each of them,
nevertheless, gave free space and license to their reporters, and
Offitt was a saint, a miscreant, a disguised prince, and an escaped
convict, according to the state of the reporter's imagination or his
digestion; while the stories told of Sleeny varied from cannibalism to
feats of herculean goodness. They all agreed reasonably well, however,
as to the personal appearance of the two men, and from this fact it
came about that, in the course of the morning, evidence was brought
forward, from a totally unexpected quarter, which settled the question
as to the burglary at Farnham's.

Mrs. Belding had been so busy the day before, in her constant
attendance upon Farnham, that she had paid no attention to the story of
the arrest. She had heard that the man had been caught and his crime
clearly established, and that he had been sent to jail for trial. Her
first thought was, "I am glad I was not called upon to give evidence.
It would have been very disagreeable to get up before a court-room full
of men and say I looked with an opera-glass out of my daughter's window
into a young man's house. I should have to mention Alice's name, too,--
and a young girl's name cannot be mentioned too seldom in the
newspapers. In fact, twice in a life-time is often enough, and one of
them should be a funeral notice."

But this morning, after calling at Farnham's and finding that he was
getting on comfortably, she sat down to read the newspapers. Alice was
sitting near her, with hands and lap full of some feminine handiwork. A
happy smile played about her lips, for her mother had just repeated to
her the surgeon's prediction that Captain Farnham would be well in a
week or two. "He said the scalp wound was healing 'by the first
intention,' which I thought was a funny phrase. I thought the maxim was
that second thoughts were best." Alice had never mentioned Farnham's
name since the first night, but he was rarely out of her mind, and the
thought that his life was saved made every hour bright and festal. "He
will be well," she thought. "He will have to come here to thank mamma
for her care of him. I shall see him again and he shall not complain of
me. If he should never speak to me again,