and you may depend upon it, he thinks more highly of you than
ever before. He and I immediately went down to Augusta to inquire into
the matter. We called upon the governor of the state, who said that he
had seen you, and bought a book of you."

"Of me!" exclaimed Bobby, startled to think he had sold a book to a
governor.

"Yes; you called at his house; probably you did not know that he was
the chief magistrate of the state. At any rate, he was very much
pleased with you, and sorry to hear of your misfortune. Well, we
followed your route to Brunswick, where we ascertained how Tom had
conducted. In a week he established a very bad reputation there; but
nothing could be found to implicate you. The squire testified to your
uniform good behavior, and especially to your devotion to your mother.
In short, we procured your pardon, and hastened with it to the State
Reform School.

"On our arrival, we learned, to our surprise and regret, that you had
escaped from the institution on the preceding evening. Every effort
was made to retake you, but without success. Ah, Bobby, you managed
that well."

"They didn't look in the right place," replied Bobby, with a smile, for
he began to feel happy again.

"By the permission of the superintendent, Squire Lee and myself
examined Tom Spicer. He is a great rascal. Perhaps he thought we
would get him out; so he made a clean breast of it, and confessed that
you had no hand in the robbery, and that you knew nothing about it. He
gave you the two bills on purpose to implicate you in the crime. We
wrote down his statement, and had it sworn to before a justice of the
peace. You shall read it by and by."

"May Heaven reward you for your kindness to a poor boy!" exclaimed
Bobby, the tears flowing down his cheeks again. "I did not deserve so
much from you, Mr. Bayard."

"Yes, you did, and a thousand times more. I was very sorry you had
left the institution, and I waited in the vicinity till they said there
was no probability that you would be captured. The most extraordinary
efforts were used to find you; but there was not a person to be found
who had seen or heard of you. I was very much alarmed about you, and
offered a hundred dollars for any information concerning you."

"I am sorry you had so much trouble. I wish I had known you were
there."

"How did you get off?"

Bobby briefly related the story of his escape, and Mr. Bayard
pronounced his skill worthy of his ge