When her letter was finished, Maggie put her hand in her pocket to take out her purse.  It was not there.  She searched on the table, looked under piles of books and papers and presently found it.  She unclasped the purse and opened an inner pocket for the purpose of taking out two five-pound notes which she had placed there this morning.  To her astonishment and perplexity, this portion of the purse now contained only one of the notes.  Maggie felt her face turning crimson.  Quick as a flash of lightning a horrible thought assailed her—­ Priscilla had been alone in her room for nearly an hour—­ Priscilla’s people were starving:  had Priscilla taken the note?

“Oh, hateful!” said Maggie to herself; “what am I coming to, to suspect the brave, the noble—­ I won’t, I can’t.  Oh, how shall I look her in the face and feel that I ever, even for a second, thought of her so dreadfully.”  Maggie searched through her purse again.  “Perhaps I dreamt that I put two notes here this morning,” she said to herself.  “But no, it is no dream; I put two notes into this division of my purse, I put four sovereigns here; the sovereigns are safe—­ one of the notes is gone.”

She thought deeply for a few moments longer, then added a postscript to her letter: 

“I am very sorry, but I can only send you one note for five pounds to-night.  Even this, however, is better than nothing.  I will give further help as soon as I hear from your friend.”  Maggie then folded her letter, addressed, stamped it and took it downstairs.

Miss Oliphant was an heiress; she was also an orphan; her father and mother were mere memories to her; she had neither brothers nor sisters; she did not particularly like her guardian, who was old and worldly wise, as different as possible from the bright, enthusiastic, impulsive girl.  Mr. Oliphant thought money the aim and object of life:  when he spoke to Maggie about it, she professed to hate it.  In reality she was indifferent to it; money was valueless to her because she had never felt its want.

She lay awake for a long time that night, thinking of Penywern Cottage, of tired Aunt Raby, of the little girls who wanted food, and education, and care, and love.  After a time she fell asleep.  In her sleep she ceased to think of Priscilla’s relations:  all her thoughts were with Priscilla herself.  She dreamt that she saw Priscilla move stealthily in her room, take up her purse with wary fingers, open it, remove a note for five pounds and hide the purse once more under books and papers.

When Maggie awoke she professed not to believe in her dream; but, nevertheless, she had a headache, and her heart was heavy within her.

At breakfast that morning Miss Oliphant made a rather startling announcement.  “I wish to say something,” she remarked in her full, rich voice.  “A strange thing happened to me last night.  I am not accounting for it; I am casting no aspersions on any one; I don’t even intend to investigate the matter; still, I wish publicly to state a fact—­ a five-pound note has been taken out of my purse!”