A dangerous friend

by Emma Leslie

As he spoke, he untied the corner of the handkerchief, and took out the money, looking at it carefully as he did so. "Have you touched this at all, my lad," he said, turning to Bob. He would not say a word to Tom again after the denials he had given last night about this money.

Bob shook his head. "When I found there was money in it—and I didn't find it out till I got home—I just stuffed the handkerchief into my coat pocket ready for the morning, and didn't take it out till I saw Tom coming along here."

"Very well; now, you see, I have tied it up again as you gave it to me. I may want you to remember this by-and-by, my lad."

Bob wished he could have a word with Tom about the matter, but he walked on as though the affair did not concern him at all, and yet his companion felt sure that something very serious must have happened by what his uncle said.

In his pity for Tom, and wishing to help him, he said at last, "You don't think Tom stole this money, do you, sir? Because I know he didn't. He told me all about winning on Tittlebrat when we went down Fleet Street."

"I wanted Tom to tell me all about the affair, but he said he had got no more money then."

"Well, hadn't Bob got it?" put in Tom.

"You know what I meant well enough. The policeman had seen you with this Jack very often lately, and wanted to find out whether he had given you any marked money. If you had told the whole truth about the matter, there would have been an end of it, but now I must go to Mr. Phillips and ask him to look into his accounts and make sure that he has not been robbed as well as this other gentleman."

Tom turned pale as his uncle said this, but Mr. Flowers did not notice it as he went on talking to Bob. Perhaps, if he had any suspicion of the real facts of the case, he might have acted differently, but he supposed Tom was afraid to tell all the truth for fear of getting his friend Jack into more trouble, and he thought the threat of going to Mr. Phillips would be sufficient to induce him to tell out all he knew about Jack, whom he felt sure had duped Tom as he had other lads.

But although Tom had turned a shade paler when his uncle said what he intended to do, he thought his theft would never be discovered now the ten shillings had been replaced, and so he walked on silently by his uncle's side until the warehouse was reached, and then, to his great relief, he heard that Mr. Phillips was not expected to arrive until late this morning, and so his uncle could not see him.