"Now," thought I, "the last card is dealt; let us see whether it will turn up a trump."
The evil spirit, which so enticingly leads people into scrapes, and is so reluctant to get them out again, true to its fatal instincts, had safely preserved the evidence of guilt in the present case. A moment's inspection of the different coins, brought to light one of the identical pieces which had been placed in the missing letter! It was thus described in the original memorandum to which I referred: "American quarter--dot over left wing of eagle; slightly filed on lower edge under date, 1850."
"Here is one of the quarters," said I, holding it up, "that was in the Rouse's Point letter,--marked and described in my memorandum, so that I could swear to it anywhere."
"Well, Mr. H.," said the post master, "I suppose this circumstance appears to you very strongly against me, and perhaps it is. But I should like a few moments' private conversation with you, if you have no objection."
Agreeably to this hint, the Marshal retired; but the post master remained silent for a while, resting his chin on his hand, and gazing into the fire with a countenance overshadowed by dejection and discouragement. The gloom on his features grew deeper and deeper, but at last he roused himself, and looked me full in the face, saying, in almost despairing tones,
"_Can_ anything be done to save me? Oh, Mr. H., for heaven's sake, put yourself in my place for a moment! Think what it is to fight as I have fought for years, to defend my reputation against enemies who wanted to pull me down, and build themselves up on my ruins; and after holding my ground so long, to be blown to pieces, as it were in an instant! How they'll all exult! There's old P.; I can see just how he'll look, shaking his old fox head. 'Ah, I knew something was rotten all the time!'
"What can you do to get me out of this trouble? I can't have it so; I _must_ have something done to save me from becoming the laughing-stock of my enemies."
"But," said I, "your enemies, as you call them, could have done you no harm, if you had not supplied them with weapons yourself."
"That may be," replied he, mournfully, "but I assure you that this is my _first_ offence. I had never dreamed of meddling with letters till this Rouse's Point package came in my way; but it didn't seem as if it could ever be discovered, so the temptation was too much for me."