s fingers
began to claw upon the coverlet, while his lips and tongue worked as with
a palsy. "Fifty dollars! Do you want to ruin me? Make it five, and I'll
sign it at once. That's more than I gave you last time."

She had commenced the check. The date was filled in, and the name of her
son as the payee.

"Five, madam--not a penny more. Five!"

The inspiration vibrated in her brain. Why not repeat the successful
forgery? He would miss five thousand as little as five.

She wrote "five," in letters, and lower down filled in the numeral,
putting it very near the dollar-sign.

"Father, you are driving me to desperation. It's your fault if--"

"Give me the pen--give me the pen," he snarled. "If you keep me waiting
too long, I shall change my mind."

She brought the blotting-pad and pen, and he scrawled his signature,
scarcely looking at the check. She drew it away from him swiftly--for she
had known him to tear up a check in a last access of covetous greed.

Five thousand dollars!

The same process of alteration as before was adopted. This time there was
no flaw or suspicious spluttering.

The reckless woman, emboldened by her first success, plunged wildly on
the second opportunity. The devil's work was better done; but,
unfortunately, she made the alteration, as before, with the rectory ink,
which was of excellent quality, and in a few hours darkened to an
entirely different tint. The color of the writing was uniform at first;
but to-morrow there would be a difference.

She was running a great risk; but she saw before her peace and
prosperity, her husband's debts paid, her own dressmaker's bills for the
past two years wiped out, and Dick saved from arrest.

This would still leave a small balance in hand.

And they would economize in the future.

Vain resolves! The spendthrift is always the thriftiest person in
intention. The rector had understated when he declared their deficit.
Only the most persistent creditors were appeased. But their good
fortune--for they considered it such--had become known to every creditor
as if by magic. Bills came pouring in. If the aggressive builder of the
new Mission Hall could get his money, why not the baker, the butcher, the
tailor? The study table was positively white with the shower of "accounts
rendered"--polite demands and abusive threats.

The rector had innocently and gratefully accepted the story of the gift
of two thousand dollars, without question or surprise. His w