Maldon maintained her serenity.
"We may be unjust to him. I should never forgive myself if I was. He
has a very good side to him, has Louis!"
"I've never seen it," said Mr. Batchgrew, still growing in authority.
"He began as a thief and he'll end as a thief, if it's no worse."
"Began as a thief?" Mrs. Maldon protested.
"Well, what d'ye suppose he left the bank for?"
"I never knew quite why he left the bank. I always understood there
was some unpleasantness."
"If ye didn't know, it was because ye didn't want to know. Ye never do
want to know these things. 'Unpleasantness!' There's only one sort of
unpleasantness with the clerks in a bank!... _I_ know, anyhow,
because I took the trouble to find out for myself, when I had that
bother with him in my own office. And a nice affair that was, too!"
"But you told me at the time that his books were all right with you.
Only you preferred not to keep him." Mrs. Maiden's voice was now
plaintive.
Thomas Batchgrew came close to the bed and leaned on the foot of it.
"There's some things as you won't hear, Elizabeth. His books were all
right, but he'd made 'em all right. I got hold of him afore he'd done
more than he could undo--that's all.
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