lmost
daybreak."

"I'll tell you what to do," said little Guzzy, when the constable
hurriedly whispered:

"Wait until _I_ get out of hearing."

* * * * *

The excitement which possessed Bowerton the next morning, when the
events of the previous night were made public, was beyond the
descriptive powers of the best linguists in the village.

Helen Wyett a burglar's wife!

At first the Bowertonians scarcely knew whether it would be proper to
recognize her at all, and before they were able to arrive at a
conclusion the intelligence of the convict's escape, the breaking open
of the gunsmith's shop, the finding of the front door of Cashing's store
ajar, and the discovery by Cashing that at least one suit of valuable
clothing had been taken, came upon the astonished villagers and rendered
them incapable of reason, and of every other mental attribute except
wonder.

That the prisoner had an accomplice seemed certain, and some suspicious
souls suggested that the prisoner's wife _might_ have been the person;
but as one of the officers declared he had watched her house all night
for fear of some such attempt, that theory was abandoned.

Under the guidance of the constable, who zealously assisted them in
every possible manner, the officers searched every house in Bowerton
that might seem likely to afford a hiding-place, and then departed on
what they considered the prisoner's most likely route.

For some days Helen Wyett gave the Bowertonians no occasion to modify
their conduct toward her, for she kept herself constantly out of sight.

When, however, she did appear in the street again, she met only the
kindest looks and salutations, for the venerable Squire Jones had talked
incessantly in praise of her courage and affection, and the Squire's
fellow-townsmen knew that when their principal magistrate was affected
to tenderness and mercy, it was from causes which would have simply
overwhelmed any ordinary mortal.

It was months before Bowerton gossip descended again to its normal
level; for a few weeks after the escape of Beigh, little Guzzy, who had
never been supposed to have unusual credit, and whose family certainly
hadn't any money, left his employer and started an opposition store.

Next to small scandal, finance was the favorite burden of conversation
at Bowerton, so the source of Guzzy's sudden prosperity was so
industriously sought and surmised that the gossips were soon at needle