ther so.
After his death we hunted high and low for it, but it could not be
found. My mother asked you if the certificates were in the store safe,
but you denied all knowledge of them--yet you had them all the time and
they did not appear in the settlement of Father's estate. It looks very
queer if they were yours that you did not say so to my mother at the
time. No, I shall not give them up until you prove your right to them."

Mr. Gassett's face was a very expressive one. It was red with wrath by
the time Alice had finished her little speech.

"Hoighty-toighty, my girl, you'd better think twice before you go to
insulting your betters. Your mother's dead and what you remember as a
half-grown girl won't go very far in a court of law. Your father made
over those certificates to me as security for a debt. It was none of
your mother's business whether I had them or not. They were endorsed in
blank because he hoped to pay the debt and get them back, I suppose."

"You mean he had paid the debt, but carelessly left those valuable
papers in the store safe supposing you were an honest man!"

Alice spoke hastily, scarcely daring to hope herself that she had hit
the truth.

If Mr. Gassett's face had been red before, it was purple now. He fairly
glared at Alice.

"You shall answer for this, you minx. You'll not find it so pleasant
being dragged into court. I'll give you one more chance to hand over
those papers peaceably--and if you don't, I'll have the law on you. As
for you," including Mrs. Morton in his rage, "I'm surprised that you
should encourage your servant to insult a gentleman in your own home."

"This is Alice's affair, Mr. Gassett," replied Mrs. Morton coldly. "She
has a perfect right to say what she thinks. I did not arrange to have
this interview take place here you will remember."

It was plain to the others that Mrs. Morton was on Alice's side.

This unspoken sympathy acted like a tonic on the girl. She drew herself
up in a remarkably good imitation of Mrs. Morton's grand manner.

"I've nothing more to say, Mr. Gassett."

Mr. Gassett did not take the trouble to say good-by. He clapped his hat
on his head and banged out the front door.

Mrs. Morton seemed paralyzed with astonishment.

"And he is a member of our church! Alice, I believe you are right--I
believe he did steal them. He didn't act like an honest man."

So Alice won one more friend in the Morton family.

They poured the tale into Dr. Mort