MR. KAYLL had heard the whole long, sad story of the struggles of his cousin, Mrs. Coleson, to keep her children and herself from starving. He believed that even now she would not have asked for help, but that the illness of her youngest child and her own failing strength had compelled her to do so much against her will. There was no one else to whom she could go, for her only other relation, Mr. Coleson’s mother, although she was well off, was a very hard and proud old lady, who had long ago refused to have anything more to do with her daughter-in-law. In consequence, though he could ill afford it, Mr. Kayll lent her five pounds that he had intended for the use of his own family. With that sum the widow would be able to get on for a while, and he could only hope that she would never be brought quite so low again.

“At least,” he said, as he rose to go, and glanced at Amy as she slept with her head on her tiny sister’s pillow, “you have there a good and helpful little girl, who must be a great comfort to you.”

Mrs. Coleson smiled rather sadly.

“She is of more use than many a grown-up person,” she replied. “Poor Amy! It has been a hard life for her. She has scarcely known what it is to be a child.”

And then farewell for the present was said without disturbing the sleepers, and Mr. Kayll stood once more out under the stars. It was now half an hour after midnight. He heard a clock strike as he started homewards, feeling very sad and grave for him, for he was a man who was nearly always cheerful, even under circumstances that would have made most other people sit down and sigh over the hardness of their fate.

“Poor things!” he said to himself more than once as he went. “How altered! Poor Amy!” And by Amy he meant not the little girl but her mother, whom he had long ago known as a merry happy child, without a care or trouble in the world. It was no wonder Mr. Kayll wished for once in his life with all his heart that he were rich, that he might put poverty and want away from these poor relations of his for ever.

The appearance of the streets had quite changed since he came. The shops were now shut, and the foot-passengers had nearly all gone. Only the policeman was still on his beat, and a few stray late people were hurrying home to bed.

Mr. Kayll thought of his wife sitting up tired and half asleep, and wondering what kept him so long, and this thought made him hasten his steps more and more until he was almost running.

All at once, as he was passing a closed shop, the door was suddenly thrown open, and a man dashed swiftly by him. Without noticing this much, he was keeping up his own steady trot, when he heard someone else running behind him, and the next instant a big powerful man had caught hold of him by the collar, and a voice said in his ear:

“I’ve got one of you at any rate! Police! Thieves!”Mr. Kayll tried to shake off his grasp, but he found this was impossible, so gave up the attempt and stood still.

“Nonsense! What do you mean? What’s the matter?” he asked.

But the man, who had no hat on, and was not completely dressed, shouted again loudly, “Police! Thieves!” while, unseen by either of them, a third man crept out of the same shop-door, and glided quietly away in the opposite direction. Then two policemen came up, and much to his astonishment and anger Mr. Kayll was given into custody.

“It’s absurd!” he said indignantly. “Why, I haven’t twopence about me anywhere.”

But he might say what he liked; it was all of no use. The man without a hat declared that he had broken into his shop, in company with another man who had escaped.

And this is the paragraph that came out in the papers afterwards:

“Robert Kayll was charged with being concerned, with another man not in custody, in burglariously breaking and entering 4050 Queen Street, Bacton, and stealing two sovereigns, the property of Henry Brown, jeweller. Henry Brown, of 4050 Queen Street, said he saw the house closed on Monday night at half-past eleven o’clock. At about ten minutes to one he was disturbed by a noise down-stairs, and saw two men walking out of the street door. The prisoner was one of the two men. Witness ran after them, caught hold of the prisoner, and called out ‘Police.’ The other man ran away. He held on to prisoner till the police arrived, when he gave him into custody. Witness then examined the premises, and found that a cash-desk had been broken open, and that four pounds had been taken. Two of the missing sovereigns were found on the prisoner.—The prisoner said he was passing the door, and the prosecutor ran out and caught him. He had no idea how the two sovereigns came into his possession. He was committed for trial.”