He could not doubt but that the story of his alleged crime had reached the city, and perhaps gone to his friends in Riverdale.

How his poor mother must have wept to think her son was a thief! No; she never could have thought that.
_She_ knew he would not steal, if no one else did.

And Annie Lee--would she ever smile upon him again?
Would she welcome him to her father's house so gladly as she had done in the past?
He could bring nothing to establish his innocence but his previous character.

Would not Mr.Bayard frown upon him?
Would not even Ellen be tempted to forget the service he had rendered her?
Bobby had thought of all these things before--on his cold, damp bed in the forest, in the watches of the tempestuous night onboard the schooner.

But now, when he was almost in the presence of those he loved and respected, they had more force, and they nearly overwhelmed him.
"I am innocent," he repeated to himself, "and why need I fear?
My good Father in heaven will not let me be wronged." Yet he could not overcome his anxiety; and when he reached the store of Mr.Bayard, he passed by, dreading to face the friend who had been so kind to him.