“He has been arrested.”

“You don’t say so!” exclaimed Randolph.  “What has he done?”

“Robbed the bank of a tin box full of bonds.  It was worth an awful lot of money.”

“Well, well!” ejaculated Randolph.  “I always thought he was a boy of no principle.”

“The tin box was found in his mother’s trunk.”

“What did Luke say?  Did he own up?”

“No; he brazened it out.  He said the box was given him to take care of by some mysterious stranger.”

“That’s too thin.  How was it traced to Luke?”

“It seems Old Maid Sprague”—­it was lucky for Melinda’s peace of mind that she did not hear this contemptuous reference to her—­“went to the Widow Larkin’s house one day and saw the tin box in her trunk.”

“She didn’t leave the trunk open, did she?”

“No; but she had it open, looking into it, when old Melinda crept upstairs softly and caught her at it.”

“I suppose Luke will have to go to State’s prison,” said Randolph, with a gratified smile.

“I hope it won’t be quite so bad as that,” said Sam, who was not equal in malice to his aristocratic friend.

“I haven’t any pity for him,” said Randolph, decidedly.  “If he chooses to steal, he must expect to be punished.”

Just then Mr. Hooper, the grammar-school teacher, came up.

“Mr. Hooper,” said Randolph, eagerly, “have you heard about Luke?”

“I have heard that he has been removed from his janitorship, and I’m sorry for it.”

“If he goes to jail he wouldn’t be able to be janitor,” said Randolph.

“Goes to jail!  What do you mean?” demanded the teacher, sharply.

Hereupon Randolph told the story, aided and assisted by Sam Noble, to whom he referred as his authority.

“This is too ridiculous!” said Mr. Hooper, contemptuously.  “Luke is no thief, and if he had the tin box he has given the right explanation of how he came by it.”

“I know he is a favorite of yours, Mr. Hooper, but that won’t save him from going to jail,” said Randolph, tartly.

“If he is a favorite of mine,” said the teacher, with dignity, “it is for a very good reason.  I have always found him to be a high-minded, honorable boy, and I still believe him to be so, in spite of the grave accusation that has been brought against him.”

There was something in the teacher’s manner that deterred Randolph from continuing his malicious attack upon Luke.  Mr. Hooper lost no time in inquiring into the facts of the case, and then in seeking out Luke, whom he found in the constable’s house.

“Luke,” he said, extending his hand, “I have heard that you were in trouble, and I have come to see what I can do for you.”

“You are very kind, Mr. Hooper,” said Luke, gratefully.  “I hope you don’t believe me guilty.”

“I would as soon believe myself guilty of the charge, Luke.”

“That’s just what I said, Mr. Hooper,” said Constable Perkins.  “Just as if there wasn’t more than one tin box in the world.”