nd law, yet he
found no motive to walk there. For the steps he had taken, there seemed
no retreat. He must go on, on, to the end. The doors that led back to
his old life had closed behind him. Those which opened before were not
inviting, but he could not stand still. So he hardened his face, braced
his nerves, stiffened his determination, and went on.

Of course he passed a wretched summer. He had intended to get away for
rest, or, rather, for an exhibition of himself and his equipage at
Newport, or Saratoga, or Long Branch; but through all the burning days
of the season he was obliged to remain in the city, while other men were
away and off their guard, to watch his Wall street operations, and
prepare for the _coup de grace_ by which he hoped to regain his lost
treasure and his forfeited position. The legal trial that loomed up
before him, among the clouds of autumn, could not be contemplated
without a shiver, and a sinking of the heart. His preparations for it
were very simple, as they mainly related to the establishment of the
genuineness of his assignment.

The months flew away more rapidly with the proprietor than with any of
the other parties interested in the suit, and when, at last, only a
fortnight was wanting to the time of the expected trial, Mr. Balfour
wrote to Number Nine, ordering his family home, and requiring the
presence of Mr. Benedict, Mrs. Dillingham, Harry and Jim.

Just at this time, the General found himself in fresh difficulty. The
corner in Muscogee Air Line, was as evasive as a huckleberry in a mouth
bereft of its armament. Indeed, to use still further the homely but
suggestive figure, the General found that his tongue was in more danger
than his huckleberry. His notes, too, secured by fraudulent collaterals,
were approaching a second and third maturity. He was without ready
money for the re-purchase of his Crooked Valley stock, and had learned,
in addition, that the stock had already changed hands, in the execution
of a purpose which he more than suspected. Large purchases of material
for the execution of heavy contracts in his manufactures had drained his
ready resources, in the department of his regular business. He was
getting short, and into a tight place. Still he was desperate, and
determined to sacrifice nothing.

Mr. Benedict and Jim, on their arrival in the city, took up their
residence in Mrs. Dillingham's house, and the landlord of Number Nine
spent several days in making the a