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 whatsoever. Mr. Johns's head bookkeeper selected me for this position. Mr. Johns can hardly object to my taking it. Have you any complaint of the way in which I filled the position?"

"I certainly have," said Austin.

"Am I not a competent bookkeeper?"

"As competent as any man under a strong emotional excitement could be, I suppose."

"I don't understand you."

"That has been quite clear from the beginning," said Austin. "The fact is, Mr. Boyd, you have made the common mistake of explaining the wrong crime. I have no objection to your having taken the position of bookkeeper in the school."

"What do you object to?" asked George, relieved for an instant of apprehension.

"To your writing love-letters to your pupils; to your using their exercises as a means of communication; to these," he drew the letters from his pocket, "found in Miss Benedotti's desk."

"Oh, Elise!" said George, reproachfully.

The little princess, whose mind worked quicker than George's, had seen this coming for some time, and she now took action. She made a little gesture to indicate running up-stairs. "Go away—please, George," she said.