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Emily.
    â€˜Again, my thanks,’ replied Fox.
    Daniel left the room shaking his head, wondering how his sister had suddenly taken charge of the situation so completely. More of those feminine wiles that people keep talking about, he decided. He resolved to make a study of feminine wiles, and wondered if his father had a book about them in his library.

    As the Lang family walked along Bay Street with Fox, they met with Mr Aitkinson, the grocer. Daniel found himself stuck with Mr Aitkinson and his father. After refusing to invite Fox to church, then spying on him, Emily was now monopolising him.
    â€˜A hero, then?’ asked Mr Aitkinson after Mr Lang raised the subject of a job for Fox. ‘Well, that’s good, but can he keep his mind on the job? You know, deliver packages without a fuss, not stop to talk with idlers on street corners, that sort of thing.’
    â€˜He has worked on a ship, Mr Aitkinson, I’m sure he is very reliable and disciplined,’ replied Mr Lang.
    â€˜Sailors are notorious for thievery.’
    â€˜Anything that he steals, I shall replace the worth out of my own pocket.’
    â€˜Will you? Well, in that case, I could give him a try. What say tomorrow, then?’
    By the time they reached the church Fox had a job, but all through the service Daniel felt uneasy. Mr Aitkinson was not very respectable, even though he was careful not to show it in front of most people. Daniel knew that boys from the neighbourhood who had the right passwords could buy French postcards from the grocer. These featured girls in artistic poses wearing no clothes. Would Fox be corrupted by working for the grocer? If his parents found out, would they forbid him to see Fox? On the other hand, Daniel had managed to acquire a few of Mr Aitkinson’s postcards from one of his own contacts, yet he did not feel corrupt.
    By the closing hymn Daniel had concluded that if Fox’s moral standards had survived life aboard a ship, then Mr Aitkinson was unlikely to damage them. Suddenly Daniel realised that Fox had known all the right responses, prayers and hymns throughout the service. Daniel thought back to the song that Fox had been singing when he and Emily had surprised him. Fox spoke with a heavy accent, yet he sang like an Englishman.
    Fox was predictably polite and well-mannered during Sunday lunch, almost to the point of being boring. After the meal, he and Daniel played chess and Fox won six games in a row. That’s my problem, thought Daniel. I never think ahead. Mr Lang proposed a challenge match. Again Fox won. Fox was playing Emily when Daniel decided to go to the kitchen for a drink. It was now that Martha approached him.
    â€˜I didn’t want to alarm the old folks, Master Daniel, so I come to you,’ the maid explained. ‘It’s that Fox again.’
    Daniel knew that for Martha to talk to him about anything at all was very unusual.
    â€˜What’s he done?’ he asked, his heart sinking.
    â€˜There’s things missin’. Odd things from the medicine cabinet, pantry and laundry. Some little empty jars are gone from the wood yard pile, an’ I swear there’s some bicarb of soda, Condy’s crystals, bleach, lemons, and suchlike gone from the bottles and packets. It was probably taken last night, like.’
    Daniel thought about this for some moments. One of his own friends, the notorious Barry the Bag, was liable to steal nearly anything that was not nailed down, but he would draw the line at Condy’s crystals, bleach, and empty jars. He was more likely to steal a bottle of wine than lemons. Daniel was sure that this was something to do with Fox.
    â€˜It must have been one of my friends,’ Daniel decided. ‘I’ll get him to pay us back.’
    â€˜I didn’t think any’d come round since Friday.’
    â€˜If Barry the Bag was going to steal something, he would have kept out of your sight,’ said Daniel firmly.
    â€˜But