Part 13

"A case of what?" said Rollo.

"Bailment," said his father. "When one person intrusts another with his property for any purpose, it is called bailing it to him. The wallet and the money were bailed to you. The law relating to such transactions is called the law of bailment. And the question is, whether, according to the law of bailment, you ought to pay for this loss."

Rollo seemed surprised at such a serious and legal view of the subject being taken; he waited, however, to hear what more his father had to say.

"I don't suppose," continued his father, "that Sarah will commence an action against you; but law is generally justice, and to know what we ought to do in cases like this, it is generally best to inquire what the law requires us to do."

"Well, sir," said Rollo, "and how is it?"

"Why, you see," said his father, "there are various kinds of bailments. A thing may be bailed to you for your benefit; as, for instance, if James were to lend you his knife, the knife would be a bailment to you for your benefit. But if he were to ask you to carry his knife somewhere to be mended, and you should take it, then it would be a bailment to you for his benefit."

"Well, sir, I took the wallet for Sarah's benefit, not mine," said Rollo.

"The law requires," continued his father, "that you should take greater care of any thing, if it is bailed to you for your benefit, than it does if it is for the benefit of the bailor. For instance, if you were to borrow James's knife for your own benefit, and were to lose it, even without any special carelessness, you ought to get him another; for it was solely for your advantage, that you took it, and so it ought to be at your risk. But if he asked you to take the knife to get it mended for his benefit; then, if you accidentally lose it, without any particular carelessness, you ought not to pay for it; for it was placed in your hands for his advantage, and so it ought to be at his risk."

"Well," said Rollo, "the wallet was given to me for Sarah's advantage, not mine; and so I ought not to pay for it."

"That depends upon whether it was lost through gross carelessness, or not. For when any thing is bailed to you for the benefit of the owner, if it is lost or injured through gross carelessness, then the law makes you liable. As, for instance, suppose you take James's knife to get it mended, and on your way you throw it over the fence among the grass, and then cannot find it, you ought to pay for it; for you were bound to take good ordinary care of it."

"Well, sir," said Rollo.

"Well," repeated his father, "now as this property was bailed to you solely for the advantage of the bailor, the question whether you ought to pay for the loss of it, depends on whether you was grossly careless, or not. If you took good ordinary care, and it was lost by accident, then you are not liable."

"Well, father, I think it was accident; I do, truly."

"I rather think so myself," said his father, with a smile, "and I am inclined to think that you are not responsible. If any body asks a boy like you to carry money for them, gratuitously, then they take themselves the ordinary risks of such a conveyance, and I think that, on the whole, this accident comes within the ordinary risks. There was not such gross carelessness as to make you liable. But then I am very sorry to have Sarah lose her money."

"So am I," said Rollo. "And the wallet is gone too."

"How good a wallet was it?" asked his father.

"O, pretty good; only it was considerably worn."

"Haven't you got one that is pretty much the same, that you don't care a great deal about?"

"Yes, sir," said Rollo; "it is in my desk. I had as lief that she would have it as not."

"Very well," said his father; "you give her your wallet, and I will replace the money."

So Rollo went to his desk, and soon came back, bringing his little wallet. He unfastened its steel clasp, and opened the wallet, and took out some little pictures which he had treasured up there, and some small pieces of white paper, which he said were marks. They were to put into his books to keep the place, when he was reading. He had got quite a quantity of them all prepared for use. When Rollo had got his wallet ready, his father took out half a dollar from his pocket, and also another small silver coin, about as large as Rollo said the one was, which was lost; and then sent Rollo to carry it to Dorothy.

In a few minutes, Rollo came back with the money in his hand, and said,

"She won't take it. She said I must bring it back. It was as much as I could do to get her to take the wallet."

"But she must take it," replied his father. "You carry it to her again, and tell her she has nothing to do with the business. The money is for Sarah, and she must not refuse it, but take it and give it to her the first opportunity."

So Rollo carried the money again to Dorothy. She received it this time, and put it in the wallet, and then deposited both in a safe place in her work-table. Then Rollo came back to his father to ask him a little more about bailments.

"Father," said Rollo, when he came back, "if James should give me his knife, or any thing, for my own, would that be a bailment?"

"No," said his father. "A bailment is only where property is intrusted to another, for a certain purpose, to be returned again to the possession of the owner, when the purpose is accomplished. For instance, when Jonas is sawing wood with my saw, the saw is a bailment from me to him; it remains my property; but he is to use it for a specific purpose, and then return it to my possession."

"He does not bring it back to you," said Rollo.