the word, 'damnable.' There you have my opinion, sum
total, and one of these new adding machines cannot give it to you more
quickly or accurately." The smile with which he said this faded as he
smoked for a moment in silence and a grim look settled in its place.
He stood up abruptly. "Excuse me a moment while I get a photograph
which will serve to illustrate a little story I'm going to tell you."

When he returned presently he thrust into Phil's hand the photo of a
young man whose expression was boyishly ingenuous.

"Nothing dishonest in that face, is there?" demanded Nat Lawson.
"That's Jimmy Stiles. He had to quit school to find work to support
his mother when she was taken sick. He came to me and I gave him his
first job. I found him loyal and trustworthy; but he made one little
slip that I want to tell you about."

It appeared that the boy had been inveigled into a get-rich-quick
investment which had gone the usual way of such things and left him in
a desperate plight; so that he had been tempted to "borrow" a few
dollars from the Interprovincial without permission. This money he
began putting back secretly every week, bit by bit out of his salary.
He had refunded about half of it when Nickleby discovered the small
shortage in the young bookkeeper's accounts. Instead of reporting the
matter, Nickleby, at that time secretary and office manager, told the
boy he would let him off if it did not occur again and made a great
show of befriending young Stiles.

But Stiles was so systematically reminded of his obligation to Nickleby
that he worried constantly over what he had done--came to such a keen
realization of his fault that one night he could stand it no longer and
went to the Lawson home. With nerves at the breaking point he
confessed his wrong to both Nathaniel Lawson and his daughter. The
boy's contrition had been so sincere that they both forgave him on the
spot, "Old Nat" patting him on the shoulder and assuring him that
nothing more would be said about it. Stiles said nothing to Nickleby
about this secret confession and for a time he recovered his spirits.

Then came the change in management. Nickleby's first move was to
dismiss one employee after another until almost the only member of the
old staff left was this young fellow, James Stiles, for whom Nickleby
seemed to have taken a strange fancy. The reason was not long in
doubt; for though the indebtedness long since had been wiped off the
sl