“Iwasonlyinfun，“saidNed。
“YouareasneakyourselftobadgerNatroundthecorner。Letmecatchyouatitagain，andI’llsouseyouintherivernexttime。Getup，andclearout!“thunderedDan，inarage。
Nedfled，dripping，andhisimpromptusitz-bathevidentlydidhimgood，forhewasveryrespectfultoboththeboysafterthat，andseemedtohavelefthiscuriosityinthebrook。AshevanishedDanjumpedoverthewall，andfoundNatlying，asifquitewornoutandboweddownwithhistroubles。
“Hewon’tpesteryouagain，Iguess。Ifhedoes，justtellme，andI’llseetohim，“saidDan，tryingtocooldown。
“Idon’tmindwhathesaysaboutmesomuch，I’vegotusedtoit，“answeredNatsadly；“butIhatetohavehimpitchintoyou。“
“Howdoyouknowheisn’tright？“askedDan，turninghisfaceaway。
“What，aboutthemoney？“criedNat，lookingupwithastartledair。
“Yes。“
“ButIdon’tbelieveit!Youdon’tcareformoney；allyouwantisyouroldbugsandthings，“andNatlaughed，incredulously。
“Iwantabutterflynetasmuchasyouwantafiddle；whyshouldn’tIstealthemoneyforitasmuchasyou？“saidDan，stillturningaway，andbusilypunchingholesintheturfwithhisstick。
“Idon’tthinkyouwould。Youliketofightandknockfolksroundsometimes，butyoudon’tlie，andIdon’tbelieveyou’dsteal，“andNatshookhisheaddecidedly。
“I’vedoneboth。Iusedtofiblikefury；it’stoomuchtroublenow；
andIstolethingstoeatoutofgardenswhenIranawayfromPage，soyouseeIamabadlot，“saidDan，speakingintherough，recklesswaywhichhehadbeenlearningtodroplately。
“ODan!don’tsayit’syou!I’dratherhaveitanyoftheotherboys，“
criedNat，insuchadistressedtonethatDanlookedpleased，andshowedthathedid，byturningroundwithaqueerexpressioninhisface，thoughheonlyanswered，­；
“Iwon’tsayanythingaboutit。Butdon’tyoufret，andwe’llpullthroughsomehow，seeifwedon’t。“
SomethinginhisfaceandmannergaveNatanewidea；andhesaid，pressinghishandstogether，intheeagernessofhisappeal，­；
“Ithinkyouknowwhodidit。Ifyoudo，beghimtotell，Dan。It’ssohardtohave’emallhatemefornothing。Idon’tthinkIcanbearitmuchlonger。IfIhadanyplacetogoto，I’drunaway，thoughIlovePlumfielddearly；butI’mnotbraveandbiglikeyou，soImuststayandwaittillsomeoneshowsthemthatIhaven’tlied。“
Ashespoke，Natlookedsobrokenanddespairing，thatDancouldnotbearit，and，mutteredhuskily，­；
“Youwon’twaitlong，“andhewalkedrapidlyaway，andwasseennomoreforhours。
“WhatisthematterwithDan？“askedtheboysofoneanotherseveraltimesduringtheSundaythatfollowedaweekwhichseemedasifitwouldneverend。Danwasoftenmoody，butthatdayhewassosoberandsilentthatnoonecouldgetanythingoutofhim。Whentheywalkedhestrayedawayfromtherest，andcamehomelate。Hetooknopartintheeveningconversation，butsatintheshadow，sobusywithhisownthoughtsthathescarcelyseemedtohearwhatwasgoingon。WhenMrs。JoshowedhimanunusuallygoodreportintheConscienceBook，helookedatitwithoutasmile，andsaid，wistfully，­；
“YouthinkIamgettingon，don’tyou？“
“Excellently，Dan!andIamsopleased，becauseIalwaysthoughtyouonlyneededalittlehelptomakeyouaboytobeproudof。“
Helookedupatherwithastrangeexpressioninhisblackeyes­；anexpressionofmingledprideandloveandsorrowwhichshecouldnotunderstandthen­；butrememberedafterward。
“I’mafraidyou’llbedisappointed，butIdotry，“hesaid，shuttingthebookwithnosignofpleasureinthepagethatheusuallylikedsomuchtoreadoverandtalkabout。
“Areyousick，dear？“askedMrs。Jo，withherhandonhisshoulder。
“Myfootachesalittle；IguessI’llgotobed。Good-night，mother，“
headded，andheldthehandagainsthischeekaminute，thenwentawaylookingasifhehadsaidgood-byetosomethingdear。
“PoorDan!hetakesNat’sdisgracetoheartsadly。Heisastrangeboy；
IwonderifIevershallunderstandhimthoroughly？“saidMrs。Jotoherself，asshethoughtoverDan’slateimprovementwithrealsatisfaction，yetfeltthattherewasmoreintheladthanshehadatfirstsuspected。
OneofthingswhichcutNatmostdeeplywasanactofTommy’s，forafterhislossTommyhadsaidtohim，kindly，butfirmly，­；
“Idon’twishtohurtyou，Nat，butyouseeIcan’taffordtolosemymoney，soIguesswewon’tbepartnersanylonger；“andwiththatTommyrubbedoutthesign，“T。Bangs&；Co。“
Nathadbeenveryproudofthe“Co。，“andhadhuntedeggsindustriously，kepthisaccountsallstraight，andhadaddedagoodsumtohisincomefromthesaleofhisshareofstockintrade。
“OTom!mustyou？“hesaid，feelingthathisgoodnamewasgoneforeverinthebusinessworldifthiswasdone。
“Imust，“returnedTommy，firmly。“Emilsaysthatwhenoneman’bezzlesbelievethat’stheword­；itmeanstotakemoneyandcutawaywithit
thepropertyofafirm，theotheronesueshim，orpitchesintohimsomehow，andwon’thaveanythingmoretodowithhim。Nowyouhave’bezzledmyproperty；Ishan’tsueyou，andIshan’tpitchintoyou，butImustdissolvethepartnership，becauseIcan’ttrustyou，andIdon’twishtofail。“
“Ican’tmakeyoubelieveme，andyouwon’ttakemymoney，thoughI’dbethankfultogiveallmydollarsifyou’donlysayyoudon’tthinkI
tookyourmoney。Doletmehuntforyou，Iwon’taskanywages，butdoitfornothing。Iknowalltheplaces，andIlikeit，“pleadedNat。
ButTommyshookhishead，andhisjollyroundfacelookedsuspiciousandhardashesaid，shortly，“Can’tdoit；wishyoudidn’tknowtheplaces。
Mindyoudon’tgohuntingonthesly，andspeculateinmyeggs。“
PoorNatwassohurtthathecouldnotgetoverit。Hefeltthathehadlostnotonlyhispartnerandpatron，butthathewasbankruptinhonor，andanoutlawfromthebusinesscommunity。Noonetrustedhisword，writtenorspoken，inspiteofhiseffortstoredeemthepastfalsehood；thesignwasdown，thefirmbrokenup，andhearuinedman。Thebarn，whichwastheboys’WallStreet，knewhimnomore。Cockletopandhersisterscackledforhiminvain，andreallyseemedtotakehismisfortunetoheart，foreggswerefewer，andsomeofthebiddiesretiredindisgusttonewnests，whichTommycouldnotfind。
“Theytrustme，“saidNat，whenheheardofit；andthoughtheboysshoutedattheidea，Natfoundcomfortinit，forwhenoneisdownintheworld，theconfidenceofevenaspeckledhenismostconsoling。
Tommytooknonewpartner，however，fordistrusthadenteredin，andpoisonedthepeaceofhisonceconfidingsoul。Nedofferedtojoinhim，buthedeclined，saying，withasenseofjusticethatdidhimhonor，­；
“ItmightturnoutthatNatdidn’ttakemymoney，andthenwecouldbepartnersagain。Idon’tthinkitwillhappen，butIwillgivehimachance，andkeeptheplaceopenalittlelonger。“
BillywastheonlypersonwhomBangsfelthecouldtrustinhisshop，andBillywastrainedtohunteggs，andhandthemoverunbroken，beingquitesatisfiedwithanappleorasugar-plumforwages。ThemorningafterDan’sgloomySunday，Billysaidtohisemployer，ashedisplayedtheresultsofalonghunt，­；
“Onlytwo。“
“Itgetsworseandworse；Ineversawsuchprovokingoldhens，“growledTommy，thinkingofthedayswhenheoftenhadsixtorejoiceover。“Well，put’eminmyhatandgivemeanewbitofchalk；Imustmark’emup，anyway。“
Billymountedapeck-measure，andlookedintothetopofthemachine，whereTommykepthiswritingmaterials。
“There’slotsofmoneyinhere，“saidBilly。
“No，thereisn’t。Catchmeleavingmycashroundagain，“returnedTommy。
“Isee’em­；one，four，eight，twodollars，“persistedBilly，whohadnotyetmasteredthefigurescorrectly。
“Whatajackyouare!“andTommyhoppeduptogetthechalkforhimself，butnearlytumbleddownagain，forthereactuallywerefourbrightquartersinarow，withabitofpaperonthemdirectedto“TomBangs，“thattheremightbenomistake。
“Thunderturtles!“criedTommy，andseizingthemhedashedintothehouse，bawlingwildly，“It’sallright!Gotmymoney!Where’sNat？“
Hewassoonfound，andhissurpriseandpleasureweresogenuinethatfewdoubtedhiswordwhenhenowdeniedallknowledgeofthemoney。
“HowcouldIputitbackwhenIdidn’ttakeit？Dobelievemenow，andbegoodtomeagain，“hesaid，soimploringly，thatEmilslappedhimontheback，anddeclaredhewouldforone。
“SowillI，andI’mjollygladit’snotyou。Butwhothedickensisit？“saidTommy，aftershakinghandsheartilywithNat。
“Nevermind，aslongasit’sfound，“saidDanwithhiseyesfixedonNat’shappyface。
“Well，Ilikethat!I’mnotgoingtohavemythingshooked，andthenbroughtbacklikethejugglingman’stricks，“criedTommy，lookingathismoneyasifhesuspectedwitchcraft。
“We’llfindhimoutsomehow，thoughhewasslyenoughtoprintthissohiswritingwouldn’tbeknown，“saidFranz，examiningthepaper。
“Demiprintstip-top，“putinRob，whohadnotaveryclearideawhatthefusswasallabout。
“Youcan’tmakemebelieveit’shim，notifyoutalktillyouareblue，“
saidTommy，andtheothershootedatthemereidea；forthelittledeacon，astheycalledhim，wasabovesuspicion。
NatfeltthedifferenceinthewaytheyspokeofDemiandhimself，andwouldhavegivenallhehadoreverhopedtohavetobesotrusted；forhehadlearnedhoweasyitistolosetheconfidenceofothers，howvery，veryhardtowinitback，andtruthbecametohimapreciousthingsincehehadsufferedfromneglectingit。
Mr。Bhaerwasverygladonestephadbeentakenintherightdirection，andwaitedhopefullyforyetfurtherrevelations。Theycamesoonerthanheexpected，andinawaythatsurprisedandgrievedhimverymuch。Astheysatatsupperthatnight，asquareparcelwashandedtoMrs。BhaerfromMrs。Bates，aneighbor。Anoteaccompaniedtheparcel，and，whileMr。Bhaerreadit，Demipulledoffthewrapper，exclaiming，ashesawitscontents，­；
“Why，it’sthebookUncleTeddygaveDan!“
“Thedevil!“brokefromDan，forhehadnotyetquitecuredhimselfofswearing，thoughhetriedveryhard。
Mr。Bhaerlookedupquicklyatthesound。Dantriedtomeethiseyes，butcouldnot；hisownfell，andhesatbitinghislips，gettingredderandreddertillhewasthepictureofshame。
“Whatisit？“askedMrs。Bhaer，anxiously。
“Ishouldhavepreferredtotalkaboutthisinprivate，butDemihasspoiltthatplan，soImayaswellhaveitoutnow，“saidMr。Bhaer，lookingalittlestern，ashealwaysdidwhenanymeannessordeceitcameupforjudgment。
“ThenoteisfromMrs。Bates，andshesaysthatherboyJimmytoldherheboughtthisbookofDanlastSaturday。Shesawthatitwasworthmuchmorethanadollar，andthinkingtherewassomemistake，hassentittome。Didyousellit，Dan？“
“Yes，sir，“wastheslowanswer。
“Why？“
“Wantedmoney。“
“Forwhat？“
“Topaysomebody。“
“Towhomdidyouoweit？“
“Tommy。“
“Neverborrowedacentofmeinhislife，“criedTommy，lookedscared，forheguessedwhatwascomingnow，andfeltthatonthewholehewouldhavepreferredwitchcraft，forheadmiredDanimmensely。
“Perhapshetookit，“criedNed，whoowedDanagrudgefortheducking，and，beingamortalboy，likedtopayitoff。
“ODan!“criedNat，claspinghishands，regardlessofthebreadandbutterinthem。
“Itisahardthingtodo，butImusthavethissettled，forIcannothaveyouwatchingeachotherlikedetectives，andthewholeschooldisturbedinthisway。didyouputthatdollarinthebarnthismorning？“askedMr。