"Who was it, then? Don't be all day telling your story," said the doctor, irritably.
"There was a young man sitting on the other side of me," said Sam. "He was well-dressed, and I didn't think he'd do such a thing; but he must have stole the letter."
"What makes you think so?"
"He got out only two or three minutes afterwards, and it wasn't long after that that I missed the letter."
"What did you do?"
"I stopped the car, and went back. Jim went back along with me. We looked all round, tryin' to find the man, but we couldn't."
"Of course you couldn't," growled the doctor. "Did you think he would stay till you came up?"
"No, sir. That is, I didn't know what to think. I felt so bad about losing the money," said Sam, artfully.
Now this story was on the whole very well got up. It did not do credit to Sam's principles, but it did do credit to his powers of invention. It might be true. There are such men as pickpockets to be found riding in our city horse-cars, as possibly some of my readers may have occasion to know. As yet Dr. Graham did not doubt the story of his young assistant. Sam came very near getting off scot-free.
"But for your carelessness this money would not have been lost," said his employer. "You ought to make up the loss to me."