have told me a lie,
it will be all the worse for you," said Mr. Long.

"You can ask Mrs. Green herself."

"I will ask her. You meant to steal: you were seen watching Mr. Grant
when he had the key of the drawer."

"And you set a trap to catch me; but you caught Mrs. Green!" laughed
Fanny.

"I don't believe a word of your story; but I am willing to be sure
before I do anything."

"What are you going to do?"

"I shall take care of you; you will know what I mean when I have proved
the case."

"You ought to have told Mrs. Green where you put the cat, for the poor
creature would have starved to death before I let her out."

"We shall see. Mr. Grant told me to take care of you if you did not
behave yourself while the family were away. I will go up and ask Mrs.
Green about this matter, and if I find you have not told me the
truth,--and I don't believe you have,--I shall take care of you."

"When shall I see you again?" asked Fanny, with the most brazen
impudence.

"You will see me sooner than you will want to see me, if you have been
doing wrong."

"But I shall not be here when you come back. We are going right up to
school now."

"I can find you, wherever you are," replied the constable, confidently,
as he walked away towards the mansion.

Fanny was entirely relieved of all her fears; she was even jubilant
over her success in cheating her persecutor. Her conscience did not
trouble her now. She readily comprehended the details of the plan by
which she was to be detected, if she attempted to steal from the
library. Of course, the constable would soon find out that she had not
told the truth, and that Mrs. Green knew nothing about the cat in the
drawer.

After the announcement that the family were to be absent a week, had
been made, it was observed that Fanny was in unusually good spirits.
Miss Fanny had detected her in the act of looking through one of the
library windows, while her father was paying a bill in the room. Mr.
Grant, wealthy as he was, had always been very methodical in his
business affairs. He kept a sum of money in a drawer for household
expenses, to which Mrs. Green and his daughters had access. When
anything was paid out by any member of the family, the amount was put
down on a paper in the drawer. After the advent of Fanny Jane, and
after she had been detected in some small pilfering, the key of this
drawer was concealed as we have described.

Miss Fanny at once suspected the motive of h