Prosperity's child

by Eleanora H. Stooke

"I suppose they must have been going to pawn something," said Violet; "I wonder if they had ever been there before, or if that was their first visit."

With one accord they paused and glanced curiously at the shop in question. The window was filled with a medley of second-hand articles—clothing, pictures, jewellery, and ornaments of every description. Mrs. Reed noticed amongst other things a large family Bible opened to exhibit a handsome print, a baby's coral with silver bells, and a dice-box lying close together, and, as she looked, her face saddened. She was turning away when Violet suddenly caught her by the hand, and in a voice which was shrill with excitement, cried:—

"Look, look! There, there! Oh Mrs. Reed, look at that purse—that tortoise-shell purse! Oh, I'm sure it's the one Agnes Hosking lost! Oh, Ann, look! Don't you recognise it? Oh, it must be the same! There couldn't be two so exactly alike!"

Violet's agitation was extreme. Her cheeks were crimson, and her face was twitching nervously. Following the direction her pointing finger indicated, Mrs. Reed and Ann saw a tortoise-shell purse, a little open to reveal its red morocco lining.

"Can it be Agnes Hosking's, I wonder?" said Ann. "Oh, how strange if it is!"

"I am certain it is," declared Violet; "don't you see it has gold rims and a gold clasp? I recognised it the moment I set eyes on it. Surely, Ann, you must recognise it, too?"

"Yes, I do—at least I think so," replied Ann. She was the more cautious of the two girls and was fearful of making a mistake. "At any rate the purse is exactly like the one Agnes showed us," she added.

"There are not many purses so handsome as that one," Mrs. Reed remarked; "if it is real tortoise-shell and real gold it is valuable." She was feeling excited herself, and hopeful that Violet was right, that this was indeed the purse about which there had been so much trouble and fuss. "Perhaps someone picked it up in the street and sold it," she suggested, "at any rate now we shall most likely be able to find out. We will go home and tell your father about it, Ann, and leave the matter in his hands. No doubt he will be able to ascertain from whom the pawnbroker obtained the purse. I wonder if Agnes Hosking would be able to identify it?"

"Oh, I should think there is no doubt about that!" exclaimed Violet. "Oh, Mrs. Reed, oh, Ann, if that is really Agnes' purse my character will be quite cleared, won't it? Oh, how thankful I am we looked in that window!"

Arrived at home it was most disappointing to find that Dr. Reed had driven into the country and had left a message to the effect that dinner was not to be kept waiting for him as he could not tell what time he might return, it might not be until late.