Iwastruetohim——IcanhonestlysayIwastruetomybeliefinmygenerousfriend——whenthatfearfulnewsreachedme。Myfellow—merchantshadgotalltheparticularsofthearrest。TheytoldmethattwoofMr。Fauntleroy’sfellow—trusteeshadcomeuptoLondontomakearrangementsaboutsellingoutsomestock。OninquiringforMr。Fauntleroyatthebanking—house，theyhadbeeninformedthathewasnotthere；and，afterleavingamessageforhim，theyhadgoneintotheCitytomakeanappointmentwiththeirstockbrokerforafutureday，whentheirfellow—trusteemightbeabletoattend。Thestock—brokervolunteeredtomakecertainbusinessinquiriesonthespot，withaviewtosavingasmuchtimeaspossible，andleftthemathisofficetoawaithisreturn。Hecameback，lookingverymuchamazed，withtheinformationthatthestockhadbeensoldoutdowntothelastfivehundredpounds。Theaffairwasinstantlyinvestigated；thedocumentauthorizingthesellingoutwasproduced；andthetwotrusteessawonit，sidebysidewithMr。Fauntleroy’ssignature，theforgedsignaturesoftheirownnames。ThishappenedontheFriday，andthetrustees，withoutlosingamoment，senttheofficersofjusticeinpursuitofMr。Fauntleroy。Hewasarrested，broughtupbeforethemagistrate，andremandedontheSaturday。OntheMondayIheardfrommyfriendstheparticularswhichIhavejustnarrated。
Buttheeventsofthatonemorningwerenotdestinedtoendevenyet。IhaddiscoveredthefailureofthebankandthearrestofMr。Fauntleroy。Iwasnexttobeenlightened，inthestrangestandthesaddestmanner，onthedifficultquestionofhisinnocenceorhisguilt。
Beforemyfriendshadleftmyoffice——beforeIhadexhaustedtheargumentswhichmygratituderatherthanmyreasonsuggestedtomeinfavoroftheunhappyprisoner——anote，markedimmediate，wasplacedinmyhands，whichsilencedmetheinstantIlookedatit。ItwaswrittenfromtheprisonbyMr。Fauntleroy，anditcontainedtwolinesonly，entreatingmetoapplyforthenecessaryorder，andtogoandseehimimmediately。
Ishallnotattempttodescribetheflutterofexpectation，thestrangemixtureofdreadandhopethatagitatedmewhenI
recognizedhishandwriting，anddiscoveredwhatitwasthathedesiredmetodo。Iobtainedtheorderandwenttotheprison。