On leaving the warehouse one evening, soon after his return from Wales, Mr. Roberts remarked, “You must dine with us to-morrow, Mr. Wynn, and my old friend Jones will accompany you. He has already arranged to form one of our party, and I am glad for my own sake and yours that we shall have the pleasure of his society. He is one of the best men I know in this huge city.”
As soon as the ladies had retired, Mr. Roberts pushed the bottle to Mr. Jones, with the observation, “This is your favourite wine, and please to make yourself as free with it as you’re welcome. I think Mr. Wynn and you, my son, prefer sherry. I’ll try port, which is my favourite drink.”
After a general conversation on the general topics of the day, Mr. Roberts turned to Mr. Jones, and said that he thanked him most gratefully for having pleaded so eloquently the claims of his young friend, Wynn. “You will doubtless remember, Jones, that I was most unwilling to receive him into the establishment, in the first place on his own account; secondly, I did not consider mine a proper place for a young gentleman of his social position. You, however, urged his claims, and considering our personal friendship, and my previous connection with the Wynn family, I at last reluctantly yielded to your wishes, though in doing so I was perfectly aware that I should create in the mind of McLiver hostile feelings to myself and Cadwgan there. I little expected that my cashier’s objection would spring from conviction of wrongdoing. I believed in his integrity, and had confidence in his honesty; and as he apparently served me faithfully I was prepared to yield to some extent to his wishes, though he was well aware of my unbending disposition when once I had resolved to carry a particular point. McLiver having discovered my resolve to be Mr. Wynn’s friend, I must own that he did not oppose my wishes to the extent I at first anticipated.
“Now from the first day on which Mr. Wynn entered upon his duties, I am bound to say that I found him plodding, persevering, and honest; his first and chief concern being to promote my interest. In this, he set us all an example we should do well to copy.
“To the proceedings of the other day—a day which to me will be ever memorable, I will not allude further than to express a hope that I have Cadwgan’s complete pardon for having for once suspected his dishonesty. And this is a fitting occasion for me to thank you, Jones, for the deep interest you have shown in my affairs in connection with our young friend. Had Cadwgan not done what he did, the scoundrel’s rascality would in all probability have effected my ruin. But how came you, Mr. Wynn, to suspect his dishonesty?”
“My tale, sir, is soon told,” remarked Cadwgan. “From time to time little things cropped up in connection with business transactions and in the accounts, the appearance of which I did not at all like. To my mind there was satisfactory and conclusive evidence that the man was not dealing honourably by you, and that you were a victim of his dishonesty. You must bear in mind this, I had but a suspicion. I could not prove that what I suspected was actual and real.
“Being in a state of doubt, I really did not know what to do. I could not suggest my suspicion to you because the person was in your confidence. After thinking over the matter some days and nights I resolved to sound my fellow-clerks, Messrs. Sykes and Williams, for I knew I could depend on them. Strange to say they had long suspected his guilt, but were afraid to give expression to their opinion, because Mr. McLiver appeared all-powerful.
“After a conference we agreed to get up evidence. We ascertained he was living at the rate of £2000 or £3000 a year, though he had no income but his salary. We found, too, that he paid for all goods when ordered. On making further inquiry we discovered that his cousin Donald, though he had a smaller salary than I had, spent several pounds weekly in dissipation.
“Then the constant visits of relatives who are employed in similar establishments in the city, and the worthless stuff sent from the houses where they were engaged, these things awakened in my mind the strongest suspicion that the parties were conspiring together to rob you and their employers.
“As the books were all in McLiver’s hands and under his control, we could do nothing; but when you appointed me to the post of accountant, Mr. Sykes, Mr. Williams, and myself resolved to ascertain if our suspicion was well founded. During the past three months we have given the whole of our spare time during the day to the past five years’ accounts, while we seldom left the office until late at night. The result of our labours you know. I fancy one of the clerks in my department must have told McLiver what we were doing, and doubtless his guilt awoke in his mind a sense of the dangerous position in which he had placed himself. Then in order if possible to crush me before the work was done, he and his cousin Donald concocted the charge against me—themselves being the robbers. I do not for a moment think they wished my punishment. What they did desire was to secure my expulsion from your establishment, that thus their malpractices might possibly remain undetected.”