d God bless you!"

With a far lighter heart, with far brighter hopes, Kenrick left him,
feeling as if a great burden had been rolled away, and inwardly blessing
the doctor for his comforting kindness. He found Wilton anxiously
awaiting his arrival in his study; and thinking that their cases in some
respects resembled each other, he strove not to be like the unforgiving
debtor of the parable, and spoke to Wilton with great gentleness.

"Come here, my poor child; first of all, let me tell you that you shall
not be reported." Wilton repaid him by a look of grateful joy.

"But you must restore all the stolen money, Wilton; the house must be
told privately; and you must leave at once."

"Well, Kenrick, I ask only one favour," said Wilton, after a short
pause.

"What is that?"

"That the house may not be told who stole the money until it is nearly
time for me to go."

"No; it shall be kept close till then, otherwise the next fortnight
would be too hard for you to bear."

"But _must_ I leave?" asked Wilton, appealingly.

"It must be so, Wilton; _I_ shall be sorry for you, but it must be
settled so. Can you manage it?"

"O yes," said Wilton, crying quietly; "I'll write home and tell my poor
mother all about it, and then of course she'll send me some money and
take me away at once, to save me from being expelled. My poor mother,
how wretched it will make her!"

"Sin makes us all wretched, Raven boy. I'm sure it makes me wretched
enough. And that you mayn't think that fear has had anything to do with
our letting you off, I must tell you, Wilton, that I've been to Dr Lane
himself and told him all the many sins I've been guilty of."

"Have you? Oh! I'm so sorry; it was all through me."

"Yes; but I'm not sorry; I'm all the happier for it, Raven. There's
nothing so miserable as undiscovered sin--is there?"

"Oh, indeed, there isn't. I'm sure I feel happier now in spite of all.
No one knows, Ken, how I've suffered this last fortnight. I've been in
a perpetual fright; I've had fearful dreams; I've felt ready to sink for
shame; and I've always been fancying that fellows suspected me. Do you
know, I am almost glad you caught me, Ken. I'm _very_ glad it was you
and no one else, though it was a _horrid, horrid_ moment when you laid
your hand on my shoulder. Yet even this isn't so bad as to have gone on
nursing the guilt secretly, and not to have been detected."

Kenrick was musing; the boy who could talk li