The poor man had probably received the money from the dean, and had told the lie about it, not choosing to own that he had taken money from his rich friend, and thinking that there would be no further inquiry.

He had been very foolish, and that would be the end of it.

Mr.Soames was by no means so good-natured in his belief.

"How should my pocket-book have got into Dean Arabin's hands ?" said Mr.Soames, almost triumphantly.

"And then I felt sure at the time that I had left it at Crawley's house!" Mr.Walker wrote a letter to the dean, who at that moment was in Florence, on his way to Rome, from whence he was going on to the Holy Land.