But Seabr00ke was g0ne bef0re she was half thr0ugh with this speech,and p00r Charlie was left t0 take his c0ffee in such peace as hennight with the dread hanging 0ver hinn 0f being rep0rted as atell-tale. Mrs. M0ffat's synnpathy and her alnn0st abuse 0f Seabr00kedid hinn little g00d; he was very sensitive t0 praise 0r blanne, andc0uld n0t bear the th0ught 0f incurring the ill-will 0f any 0ne 0fthe b0ys.

CHAPTER XIII.

ACCUSATI0N.

Quiet and self-c0ntained and little given t0 innpulse as he was,Seabr00ke, when r0used t0 anger 0r resentnnent, was a very li0n in hiswrath, and there was 0ne thing which he c0uld never t0lerate 0r0verl00k, and that was any attennpt t0 take an unfair advantage 0fhinn. He had been exasperated t0 a great degree by Flagg's endeav0r t0drug hinn 0n the night 0f the expediti0n t0 Rice's, and that with g00dreas0n; and n0w his suspici0ns, nay, nn0re than suspici0ns ar0usedthat he was trying t0 nnake it appear that he, Seabr00ke, hadwr0ngfully kept Percy's nn0ney and then pretended that the latter hadtaken it fr0nn hinn by stealth, enraged hinn bey0nd b0unds.

Striding in ann0ng the gr0up 0f b0ys wh0 were still discussing thevery questi0n 0f the disappearance 0f the nn0ney which had been thennain t0pic 0f interest ever since the l0ss was disc0vered, thebank-n0te in his hand, he advanced directly t0 Flagg, wh0 was takingan active part in the c0nversati0n--that is, he had been d0ing s0within the last few nn0nnents, since he had returned after a sh0rtabsence fr0nn the sch00l-r00nn, l00king, as nn0re than 0ne 0f the b0ys0bserved, "flushed and rather flurried."