The next person he saw was Mr. Hobart, who welcomed him warmly, and then put him at his ease while the other clerks crowded round with questions, some asking merely for chaff, and others in genuine interest.
Terry bore the ordeal very well indeed, but felt quite relieved when it came to an end and the clerks all took up their work for the day, leaving him to await Mr. Drummond's arrival.
When he came down, and sent for Terry, the boy went before him with a beating heart. Although the fear of being thought guilty of stealing the money was gone, still there were the neglect of duty and the foolish running away from the consequences to be judged for; and he knew that, kind as Mr. Drummond had been, he was no less just than kind.
But he did not know that Mr. Hobart had been at Mr. Drummond's house the previous evening and told him Terry's story, and that therefore the old gentleman was ready to receive him, not with stern words of condemnation, but with kind words of encouragement.
Yet Mr. Drummond liked his joke, and when Terry presented himself before him, trembling and blushing, he assumed an air of great gravity, and said in his most impressive tone,—
"Well, sir, you've come back, I see; and now, what have you to say for yourself?"
With brimming eyes and quivering lips, Terry began to express his penitence, but had not got very far when Mr. Drummond's countenance relaxed, and smiling pleasantly he held out his hand, saying,—
"You needn't mind, Terry; I know all about it already. Mr. Hobart told me last night. Just tell me some of the things you saw in the United States."
And in this way the much-dreaded interview passed off, with the result that at the close Terry felt himself fully restored to his former standing in the office, and able to hold up his head once more among his fellow-clerks.
He did not take long to settle down to work again. He was full of desire to atone for his errors, and gave his whole attention to whatever was assigned him, bringing the whole strength of his really unusual if untrained mental powers to bear upon the task in hand as he had never done before.