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38
Left to Themselves.

"Yes, it was as plain as daylight. The fellow opened the safe for the rogues! At first the indictment against him was rather shaky. He was tried, and got off with a light sentence; only a year or so, I believe."

"Convicted, all of 'em, on State's evidence, weren't they?"

"Yes, this Touchtone included. One of the crowd decided to speak what he knew. I presume Touchtone had had his share of what they all got. But it didn't do the man much good."

"Why, what became of him?" asked another voice.

"O, he and his wife rented a little cottage up here. They left their house near New York, or in it, and came here till Touchtone died. He had consumption. Marcy was an old friend of the lad's mother, and helped them along, I understand, till this boy, Philip, was left alone by her dying, too. She was a fine woman, I've been told. Stuck to her husband and to his innocence, till the last. After that, Marcy took Phil with him. I think he expects to adopt him."

"Well, he's a nice boy, anyway," came the