Beechcroft at Rockstone

'I have come down about this affair of young White's. His father was my friend and brother-officer, and I am very anxious about him.'

'I have been greatly disappointed in those young people, Sir Jasper,' said Mr. Stebbing uneasily.

'I understand that you are intending to prosecute Alexis White for the disappearance of the fifteen pounds he received on behalf of the firm.'

'Exactly so, Sir Jasper. There's no doubt that the carter, Field, handed it to him; he acknowledges as much, but he would have us believe that after running away with it, he returned it to his sister to send to me. Where is it? I ask.'

'Yes,' put in Mrs. Stebbing, 'and the girl, the little one, changed a five-pound note at Glover's.'

'I can account for that,' said Mr. White, with somewhat of an effort. 'I gave her one for her sister, and charged them not to mention it.'

He certainly seemed ashamed to mention it before those who accounted it a weakness; and Sir Jasper broke the silence by proposing to produce his witnesses.

'Really, Sir Jasper, this should be left for the court,' said Mr. Stebbing.

'It might be well to settle the matter in private, without dragging Miss White into Avoncester away from her dying mother.'

'Those things are so exaggerated,' said the lady.

'I have seen her,' said Sir Jasper gravely.

'May I ask who these witnesses are?' demanded Mr. Stebbing.

'Two are waiting here-the messenger and his companion. Another is your porter at the marble works, and the fourth is your youngest son.'

This caused a sensation, and Mrs. Stebbing began-

'I am sure I can't tell what you mean, Sir Jasper.'

'Is he in the house?'

'Yes; he has a bad cold.'

Mrs. Stebbing opened the door and called 'George,' and on the boy's appearance, Sir Jasper asked him-

'Do you remember the morning of the 17th of last month-three days after the accident? I want to know whether you saw any one in the approach to the house.'

'I don't know what day it was,' said the boy, somewhat sulkily.

'You did see some one, and warned them off!'

'I saw two little ca-two boys out of the town on the front door steps.'

'Did you know them?'

'No-that is to say, one was a fisherman's boy.'

'And the other?'

'I thought he belonged to the lot of Whites.'

'Should you know them again?'

'I suppose so.'

'Will you excuse me, and I will call them into the hall?' said Sir Jasper.

This was effected, and Master George had to identify the boys, after which Sir Jasper elicited that Petros had seen the dirty envelope come out of his brother's letter, and that his sister had put it into another, which she addressed as he described, and gave into his charge to deliver. Then came the account of the way he had been refused admittance by the porter.

'Why didn't you give him the letter?' demanded Mr. Stebbing.

'Catch us,' responded Sydney Grove, rejoiced at the opportunity, 'when what we got was, "Get out, you young rascals!"'

Petros more discreetly added-

'My sister wanted it to be given to Mr. Stebbing, so we went up to the house to wait for him, but it got late for school, and I saw the postman drop the letters into the slit in the door, so I thought that would be all right.'

'Did you see him do so?' asked Sir Jasper of the independent witness.

'Yes, sir, and he there'-pointing to George-'saw it too, and-'

'Did you?'

'Ay, and thought it like their impudence.'

'That will do, my boys,' said Sir Jasper. 'Now run away.'

Mr. White put something into each paw as the door was opened and the pair made their exit.

If Sir Jasper acted as advocate, Mr. White seemed to take the position of judge.

'There can be no doubt,' he said, 'that the letter containing the notes reached this house.'

'No,' said Mr. Stebbing hotly. 'Why was I not told? Who cleared the letter-box?'

It was the page's business, but to remember any particular letter on any particular day was quite beyond him, and he only stared wildly and said, 'Dun no,' on which he was dismissed to the lower regions.

'The address was "Francis Stebbing, Esq.,"' said Sir Jasper meditatively, perhaps like a spider pulling his cord. 'Francis-your son's name. Can he-'

'Mr. White, I'll thank you to take care what you say of my son!' exclaimed Mrs. Stebbing; but there was a blank look of alarm on the father's face.

'Where is he?' asked Mr. White.

'He may be able to explain'-courtesy and pity made the General add.

'No, no,' burst out the mother. 'He knows nothing of it. Mr. Stebbing, can't you stand up for your own son?'

'Perhaps,' began the poor man, his tone faltering with a terrible anxiety, but his wife exclaimed hastily-

'He never saw nor heard of it. I put it in the fire.'

There was a general hush, broken by Mr. Stebbing saying slowly-

'You-put-it-in-the-fire.'

'Yes; I saw those disreputable-looking boys put it into the box. I wasn't going to have that bold girl sending billy-doos on the sly to my son.'

'Under these circumstances,' drily said Sir Jasper, 'I presume that you will think it expedient to withdraw the prosecution.'

'Certainly, certainly,' said Mr. Stebbing, in the tone of one delivered from great alarm. 'I will write at once to my solicitor at Avoncester.' Then turning on his wife, 'How was it that I never heard this before, and you let me go and make a fool of myself?'

'How was I to know, Mr. Stebbing? You started off without a word to me, and all you told me when you came back was that the young man said he had posted the letter to his sister. I should like to know why he could not send it himself to the proper place!'

'Well, Mrs. Stebbing,' said her husband, 'I hope it will be a lesson to you against making free with other people's letters.'

She tossed her head, and was about to retire, when Sir Jasper said-

'Before leaving us, madam, in justice to my old friend's daughter, I should be much obliged if you would let me know your grounds for believing the letter to be what you say.'

'Why-why, Sir Jasper, it has been going on this year or more! She has perfectly infatuated the poor boy.'

'I am not asking about your son's sentiments but can you adduce any proof of their being encouraged!'

'Sir Jasper! a young man doesn't go on in that way without encouragement.'

'What encouragement can you prove?'

'Didn't I surprise a letter from her-?'

'Well'-checked the tone of triumphant conviction.

'A refusal, yes, but we all know what that means, and that there must have been something to lead to it'-and as there was an unconvinced silence-'Besides-oh, why, every one knew of her arts. You did, Mr. Stebbing, and of poor Frank's infatuation. It was the reason of her dismissal.'

'I knew what you told me, Mrs. Stebbing,' he answered grimly, not at all inclined to support her at this moment of anger. 'I am sure I wish I had never listened to you. I never saw anything amiss in the girl's behaviour, and they are all at sixes and sevens without her at the mosaic work-though she is only absent from her mother's illness at present.'

'You! of course she would not show her goings on before you, said the lady.

'Is Master Frank in the house?' put in Mr. White; 'I should like to put the question before him.'

'You can't expect a young man to make mortifying admissions,' exclaimed the mother, and as she saw smiles in answer she added, 'Of course, the girl has played the modest and proper throughout! That was her art, to draw him on, till he did not know what he was about.'

'Setting aside the supposed purpose,' said Sir Jasper, 'you admit, Mrs. Stebbing, that of your own knowledge, Miss White has never encouraged your son's attentions.'

'N-no; but we all know what those girls are.'

'Fatherless and unprotected,' said Sir Jasper, 'dependent on their own character and exertion, and therefore in especial need of kind construction. Good morning, Mrs. Stebbing; I have learnt all that I wish to know.'

Overpowered, but not convinced, Mrs. Stebbing saw her visitors depart.