“If you like.”
“Well, good by, I must be hurrying back to the
store.”
Rodney smiled. He rather enjoyed Jasper’s
surprise and perplexity.
RODNEY’S SECRET IS DISCOVERED.
Jasper lost no time in acquainting his uncle with
Rodney’s extraordinary good fortune. James
Redwood was surprised, but not all together incredulous.
“I don’t understand it,” he said,
“but Ropes appears to be a boy of truth.
Perhaps he may have exaggerated the amount of his salary.”
“I hardly think so, uncle. He gave me a
tip top dinner down on Park Row.”
“He may have been in funds from selling the
articles taken from the store.”
“That’s so!” assented Jasper, who
had the best possible reason for knowing that it was
not so.
“I wish the boy well,” said his uncle.
“He always treated me respectfully, and I never
had anything against him except the loss of stock,
and it is not certain that he is the thief.”
“I guess there isn’t any doubt about that.”
“Yet, believing him to be a thief, you did not
hesitate to accept a dinner from him.”
“I didn’t want to hurt his feelings,”
replied Jasper, rather sheepishly.
“Do you know what sort of a place he has got,
or with what house?”
“No; he wouldn’t tell me.”
“He thought perhaps you would inform the new
firm of the circumstances under which he left us.
I don’t blame him, but I am surprised that he
should have been engaged without a recommendation.”
“Shall you tell Mr. Goodnow?”
“Not unless he asks about Ropes. I don’t
want to interfere with the boy in any way.”
In the store, as has already been stated, Jasper succeeded
to Rodney’s place, and in consequence his pay
was raised to seven dollars a week. Still it
was not equal to what it had been when he was receiving
additional money from the sale of the articles stolen
by Philip Carton and himself.
The way in which they had operated was this:
Philip would come in and buy a cloak or a dress pattern
from Jasper, and the young salesman would pack up
two or three instead of one. There was a drawback
to the profit in those cases, as Carton would be obliged
to sell both at a reduced price. Still they had
made a considerable sum from these transactions, though
not nearly as much as Mr. Goodnow had lost.
After the discovery of the theft and the discharge
of Rodney, the two confederates felt that it would
be imprudent to do any more in that line. This
suspension entailed heavier loss on Carton than on
Jasper. The latter had a fixed income and a home
at his uncle’s house, while Philip had no regular
income, though he occasionally secured a little temporary
employment.
In the meantime Rodney had commenced his tutorship.
His young pupil became very fond of him, and being
a studious boy, made rapid progress in his lessons.
