o me a long while ago," he answered with
hesitation.

"Oh!" exclaimed Ward, evidently incredulous.

"I promised not to use it, but to keep it saved up," continued Percy,
"and I meant to; but you wanted me to pay what I owed you, and so----"

"You acted like an honest young man," said Ward, finishing his sentence
for him.

"Yes."

There was a peculiar smile on Reginald Ward's face, but he did not think
it best to question Percy's statement. His money had been paid him, and
that was all he cared for.

"Percy's found it in his father's desk, I reckon," he said to himself,
"but that doesn't concern me. I've got my money and that's more than I
expected."

"By the way, Reg," said Percy hurriedly, "don't mention to any one my
paying you this money."

"Why not?"

"It would be found out that I had been playing cards for money, and
there'd be no end of a row. Besides, then it would come out that I had
parted with this bill."

"All right, Percy. I'll keep mum. Won't you go down and have a game of
billiards?"

"Not to-night. I'm rather tired."

"That boy's got something on his mind," thought Reginald Ward.

CHAPTER XIV.

BERT STANDS TRIAL.

Percy went to bed early, and heard nothing of Bert's arrest for the
theft which he had himself committed till at the breakfast table the
next morning his father said: "Well, young Barton has got into a bad
scrape."

"What is it, father?" asked Percy, pricking up his ears.

"He is charged with stealing a twenty-dollar bill from Mr. Jones, the
store-keeper."

This was certainly amazing, and Percy, in his agitation, nearly choked
with some coffee that went the wrong way.

"Be more careful, Percy!" said his mother sharply.

"I was so surprised, mother, at what father told me," apologized Percy.

"I don't know why you need be surprised," said Mrs. Marlowe. "I never
had a very good opinion of the boy."

"How did it happen?" asked Percy, curious to know how suspicion could
have fallen upon Bert.

"It appears that Mr. Jones laid a twenty-dollar bill on his desk--a very
careless proceeding, by the way--while he was waiting upon a customer in
another part of the store. About five minutes afterward the Barton boy
called upon him to fill a small can with kerosene, and actually had the
hardihood to offer his own twenty-dollar bill in payment."

"Bert Barton offered Mr. Jones a twenty-dollar bill?" asked Percy, in
great surprise.

"Yes; no wonder you are surprised a