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Benjamin Stone turned his back upon them all, opened his desk and busied himself there for several moments. When he turned around, he had three oblong slips of paper in his hand.

"There is your hundred pounds, Matthew," he said, presenting him with a cheque. "As for you others, you have some small amounts, I believe, in the Savings Bank."

"We don't want any money from you, uncle," Rosina assured him hastily. "We just want to thank you for all you have done for us, and to ask you to forgive us because we are going away."

"I am sorry that I was such a failure in the factory, sir," Philip said, "but you can see for yourself that I am no use in business."

"You are useless in business because you are incompetent," Benjamin Stone replied firmly, "and you are incompetent because you are lazy, lazy in mind and lazy in body. I accept your thanks, and yours, Rosina, for what I have done for you. Here is a cheque for fifty pounds for each of you. Added to what you have, it may keep you from starvation for a few weeks longer. For the rest, leave this house when and how you choose. I shall ask you to remember only one thing—when you leave it, you leave it for ever."