"
Christabel, finding that Mr. Merrifield looked at her, helped out
Susan by explaining that various small delinquencies were visited
with fines, and that the desire to save for the pig had rendered the
children very careful.
"Indeed," she said, "I was thankful for the incentive, but I am
afraid that it was over-worked, and did harm in the end:" and she
glanced towards David.
"It is the way with secondary motives," was the answer.
Here Captain Merrifield came back alone; and his brother was the only
person who ventured to say, "Well?"
"I have sent him to his room," said the Captain. "It is a very bad
business, though of course he made excuses to himself."
The Captain then told them Henry's confession. He had been too much
hurried by the fear of being caught, to take out his own share of the
hoard, and had therefore emptied the whole cupful into his pocket-
handkerchief, tied it up, and run off with it, intending to separate
what was honestly his own. What that was he did not know, but his
boastful habits and want of accuracy had made his memory so careless,
that he fancied that a far larger proportion was his than really was,
and his purposes were in the strange medley that falls to the lot of
all self-deceivers, sometimes fancying he would only take what he had
a right to (whatever that might be), sometimes that he would borrow
what he wanted, and replace it when the sovereign should be given to
him, or that the Grevilles would make it up when they had their
month's allowance.
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