52 THE MISSING TREASURE. 



Tomb, not (this evening) with that in the churchyard, but 

 with his grandfather's miniature model of the same. 



He had reluctantly subtracted in the morning from his four 

 pounds remainder, two shillings, with one of which he dis- 

 charged his only debt to his landlady, putting the other in his 

 pocket with the key of his treasure-box. Now this shilling, 

 which he had brought home again, he thought he would return 

 to where it had been so long entombed, and, with this 

 intent, looked for the oaken box, in the cupboard where he had 

 inadvertently left it. To his surprise and consternation it 

 was gone. He rummaged despairingly and vainly in the few 

 other hiding-places his little room afforded ; but it was gone 

 quite gone ! 



He hastened down to tell his loss to the old woman. She 

 was gone too out to a neighbour's; and in an agony of 

 distress and impatience Tim was turning to remount the ladder 

 stair, and look again where he had vainly looked before, when, 

 on passing close to an old walnut-tree chest of drawers, which 

 occupied one corner of the kitchen, he nearly stumbled over 

 something on the brick floor, and on picking it up found it to 

 be a bit of his missing box one of the carved pinnacles from 

 off a corner of the miniature tomb. The blood rushed for a 

 moment into Tim's pale face, which then grew paler. It was 

 she, then, his friend, who had robbed him of his little all ! 



He trembled, and, quite overcome by alarm and vexation, 

 following on the fatigue and excitement of the day, sank into 



