He had not dared mention this fact as yet to Mr. Goodwyn, for, on its
face, he feared that it would only serve to make his case more serious;
since the fact would become evident that he knew the value of the papers
in the packet.
He had just reached the point where he took that one peep through the
little knothole, and saw Mr. Graylock buttoning up his coat, with that
inscrutable look on his thin face, when he arrived home, and found his
mother awaiting him.
To his surprise she was smiling as though unusually happy, and this was
so unexpected that it gave him a pang to remember how he must bring new
shadows upon her heart by telling how he was suspected of having done a
terrible thing.
"Good news, Dick, guess what it is?" she exclaimed, as she fondly caught
him in her arms and kissed him.
"Not the resumption of paying dividends by that company?" he asked.
"No, something as unexpected as a meteor falling out of the heavens. I
have received word from a lawyer in Boston that a relative whom I hardly
knew belonged to the family has died, and left me quite a little
fortune--the lawyer could not say the exact amount, but it brings in
something like a thousand dollars a year."
Dick could hardly believe his ears.
What a day this had been, the evil mingled with the good; would he ever
forget it as long as he lived?
Of course, being a boy he immediately forgot all about his own troubles,
and hugged his little mother until she begged for mercy.
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