"How could it have got to the mill?" exclaimed Mr. Langley after they were gone.
"From the waste-paper basket," said Mr. Brading. "I don't think the letter ever came downstairs. Murray told us this morning that it had been found, and then remembered that one morning after the letters had been sorted, they came to fetch the waste-paper basket instead of getting it early as it should have been. There was an unusually heavy mail too that day, so that it must have slipped off the table without being noticed."
"Well, I am thankful it is found; it quite clears Mr. Murray's character," observed the manager.
"Yes, it does; not that it was necessary so far as I am concerned," said Mr. Brading. "The lad has earned a character since he has been here for straightforward honesty and truthfulness in word and deed. But still it is satisfactory to be able to prove it to all the world, for this is an inheritance that none can take from him, and, by the proof he has given of possessing these qualities, I am glad to know that he has regained his inheritance which his ancestors had well-nigh squandered in idle extravagance."
THE END.