“I must call your mistress; she will know what to do with you!” Instantly she sprang to her feet, and broke into passionate entreaty.
“Oh, please, please, sir, have a minute’s patience with me,” she cried; “you never saw me behave so badly before!”
“Certainly not, Annie; I never did. And I hope you will never do so again,” answered her master, with reviving good-nature, and was back in his first notion, that Hector had said something to her which she thought rude and did not like to repeat. He had never had a daughter, and perhaps all the more felt pitiful over the troubled woman-child at his feet.
But, having once spoken out and conquered the spell upon her, Annie was able to go on. She became suddenly quiet, and, interrupted only by an occasional sob, poured out her whole story, if not quite unbrokenly, at least without actual intermission, while her master stood and listened without a break in his fixed attention. By-and-by, however, a slow smile began to dawn on his countenance, which spread and spread until at length he burst into a laugh, none the less merry that it was low and evidently restrained lest it should be overheard. Like one suddenly made ashamed, Annie rose to her feet, but still held out the note to her master.
How was it possible that her evil deed should provoke her master to a fit of laughter? It might be easy for him in his goodness to pardon her, but how could he treat her offense as a thing of no consequence? Was it not a sin, which, like every other sin, could nowise at all be cleansed? For even God himself could not blot out the fact that she had done the deed! And yet, there stood her master laughing! And, what was more dreadful still, despite the resentment of her conscience, her master’s merriment so far affected herself that she could not repress a responsive smile! It was no less than indecent, and yet, even in that answering smile, her misery of six months’ duration passed totally away, melted from her like a mist of the morning, so that she could not even recall the feeling of her lost unhappiness. But, might not her conscience be going to sleep? Was it not possible she might be growing indifferent to right and wrong? Was she not aware in herself that there were powers of evil about her, seeking to lead her astray, and putting strange and horrid things in her mind?
But, although he laughed, her master uttered no articulate sound until she had ended her statement, by which time his amusement had changed to admiration. Another minute still passed, however, before he knew what answer to make.
“But, my good girl,” he began, “I do not see that you have anything to blame yourself for—at least, not anything worth blaming yourself about. After so long a time, the money found was certainly your own, and you could do what you pleased with it.”
“But, sir, I did not wait at all to see how it had happened, or whether it might not be claimed. I believe, indeed, that I hurried away at once, lest anyone should know I had it. I ran to spend it at once, so for whatever happened afterward I was to blame. Then, when it was too late, I learned that the money was yours!”
“What did you do with it, if I may ask?” said the master.
“I gave it to a schoolfellow of mine who had married a helpless sort of husband and was in want of food.”
“I am afraid you did not help them much by that,” murmured the banker.
“Please, sir, I knew no other way to help them; and the money seemed to have been given me for them. I soon came to know better, and have been sorry ever since. I knew that I had no right to give it away as soon as I knew whose it was.”
She ceased, but still held out the note to him.
Mr. Macintosh stood again silent, and made no movement toward taking it.
“Please, sir, take the money, and forgive me,” pleaded Annie. “And please, sir, please do not say anything about it to anybody. Even my mother does not know.”
“Now there you did wrong. You ought to have told your mother.”
“I see that now, sir; but I was so glad to be able to help the poor creatures that I did not think of it till afterwards.”
“I dare say your mother would have been glad of the money herself; I understand she was not left very well off.”
“At that time I did not know she was so poor. But now that my mistress has paid me such good wages, I am going to take her every penny of them this very afternoon.”
“And then you will tell her, will you not?”
“I shall not mind telling her when you have taken it back. I was afraid to tell her before! It was to pay you back that I asked Mrs. Macintosh to take me for parlormaid.”
“Then you were not in service before?”
“No, sir. You see, my mother thought I could earn my bread in a way we should both like better.”
“So now you will give up service and go back to her?”
“I am not sure, sir. It would be long, I fear, before the school would pay me as well. You see, I have my food here too. And everything
