and Mrs. Reed were quite of the opinion that, somehow or
other, the affair of the five-pound note would soon be cleared up. The
more the two women talked over the whole occurrence, the more certain
they were on that point. When Grannie questioned her carefully, Alison
confessed that while she was attending to her two rather troublesome
customers, it would have been quite within the region of possibility
for someone to approach the till unperceived. Of course Alison had
noticed no one; but that would not have prevented the deed being done.

"The more I think of it, the more certain I am it's that Clay girl,"
said Grannie. "Oh, yes, that Clay girl is at the bottom of it. I'll
tell Jim so the next time he calls."

"But I don't expect Jim to call--at least at present," said Alison,
heaving a heavy sigh, and fixing her eyes on the window.

"And why not, my dearie, why shouldn't you have the comfort of seeing
him?"

"It aint a comfort at present, Grannie; it is more than I can bear. I
won't engage myself to Jim until I am cleared, and I love him so much,
Grannie, and he loves me so much that it is torture to me to see him
and refuse him; but I am right, aint I? Do say as I'm right."

"Coming of the blood of the Simpsons, the Phippses and Reeds, you can
do no different," said Grannie, in a solemn tone. "You'll be cleared
werry soon, Alison, for there's a God above, and you are a poor orphin
girl, and we have his promise that he looks out special for orphins;
oh, yes, 'twill all come right, and in the meantime you might as well
take a lesson in the feather-stitching."

But though Grannie spoke with right good faith, and Alison cheered up
all she could, things did not come right. The theft was not brought
home to the wicked Clay girl, as Grannie now invariably called her;
Shaw did not go on his knees to Alison to return; and one day Jim, who
did still call at the Reeds' notwithstanding Alison's prohibition,
brought the gloomy tidings that Shaw was seeing other girls with a view
to filling up Alison's place in the shop. This was a dark blow indeed,
and both Alison and Grannie felt themselves turning very pale, and
their hearts sinking, when Jim brought them the unpleasant news.

"Set down, Jim Hardy, set down," said Grannie, but her lips trembled
with passion as she spoke. "I don't want to see anyone in my house
that I don't offer a chair to, but I can't think much of your detective
powers, lad, or you'd have go