tins. I only
wish I may have the luck to meet with him."

"I shall feel perfectly safe with you, Noah. But--hallo! I forgot, is
not to-morrow the great cricket-match at S----? and you must be there."

"It is," said I; "but there is no positive necessity for my being there.
It is a good thing to be missed sometimes. They'll know the value of a
good player another time."

"You are their best hand?"

"Yes; I know _that_, and they know it too. However, for this time they
must try and win the match without me. Good morning, Mr. Carlos, I will
not fail to meet you as you desire."

He entered the magnificent lawn which spread in front of his noble
residence, and I, whistling the tune of a hunting-song, turned my steps
through the plantations towards home.

God knows! at that moment I had not the most distant idea of raising my
hand against his life.

I walked on, or rather sauntered, for the weather was excessively warm
for September, in a sort of dreamy state. The thought uppermost in my
mind was a vague wish to know how much money Mr. Carlos expected to
receive for the sale of Crawford's farm.

The land was not very good; but the house and barns were commodious, and
in excellent repair. It was honestly worth L4,000. Will he receive this
large sum in one payment--or will it be by instalments of eight hundred
or a thousand pounds? The latter supposition was the most probable. "He
is foolish," I continued, pursuing my train of thought, "to travel with
a sum like that in his pocket, and by a common conveyance too. It is
tempting providence. But he is a rash man, who never listens to any
advice. He will be murdered one of these days if he does not take care."

A thousand pounds is an immense sum in the estimation of a poor man. The
busy fiend whispered in my ear, "How much could be done with that sum if
you could only command it! It would buy a commission in the army, and
make a gentleman of you at once." But then "people would suspect how I
came by it."

"It would enable you to emigrate to America or Australia; and become the
purchaser of a tract of land, that might make your fortune."

"Yes! and then I would drop the odious name of Noah Cotton, return with
a fine coat, and a noble alias, and seek out and marry my adored Ella
Carlos."

After indulging for some time in this species of castle-building, I
began seriously to consider whether it would be such a difficult matter
to obtain the money, and realize the latt