He entered the little house with the air of a proprietor4.
“I believe this is interest day,” returned the widow.
“Yes. I presume you have by this time seen the folly6 of holding on to the place. You can't afford it, and it is best to accept my offer.”
“My mother and I have thought it over, and decided to sell,” said Herbert.
“I am glad you are so sensible,” observed Squire Leech7, in a tone of satisfaction. “I will give you three hundred dollars over and above the mortgage.”
“You offered us fifty dollars more before.”
“Then is not now. You should have accepted my offer when I made it.”
“We have no idea of selling at that price,” said Herbert. “Our lowest price is six hundred and fifty dollars over and above the mortgage.”
“Are you crazy?” ejaculated the squire, angrily.
“You know you can't get it.”
“Then we won't sell.”
“Why must we?”
“You can't live on nothing.”
“Of course not.”
“You have made a failure in New York.”
“I made my expenses while I was there.”
“Then why didn't you stay?”
“I wanted to do something for mother's support.”
“You have altogether too high an idea of your own abilities.”
“I hope not, sir.”
“You influence your mother to her harm.”
“I don't think so, Squire Leech.”
“But in this case you must yield. You can't expect me to wait for my money.”
“Do you mean the interest?”
“Of course I do.”
“We shall not ask you to wait. I am ready to pay it.”
The squire stared in discomfiture10 while Herbert drew out the precise sum needed to pay the interest.
“Where did you get that money?” he inquired, chop-fallen.
“Honestly, Squire Leech. Will you give me a receipt?”
The squire did so mechanically.
“I will give you the three hundred and fifty dollars,” he said; “but you must accept it to-day, or it is withdrawn11.”
“Neither to-day nor any other day will it be accepted, Squire Leech,” said Herbert, firmly. “If you choose to pay six hundred and fifty, we will sell.”
“You must think I am crazy.”
“No, sir; it is a fair offer. If you don't want to buy, we will make another offer. We will rent the house for ninety dollars a year. That is the interest on fifteen hundred dollars at six per cent. I believe a man in your employ wishes to live here.”
“Where do you propose to live?” asked Squire Leech, in surprise.
“We are going to leave town.”
“Have you got a chance to work outside?”
“Yes; but I have declined to. I am going to school for two years—to an academy.”
“I shall live on my income,” answered Herbert, smiling.
“Yes.”
“From whom? I thought you only got a trunk of old clothes from your uncle.”
“My legacy comes from my father.”
“But he died poor.”
“He left behind him an invention, half of which we have sold for an income of a thousand dollars a year.”
“A thousand a year!” ejaculated the squire.
“Yes. I have sold it to the father of Mr. Cameron, who employed me last summer. You see, there is no occasion for our selling the house.”
“You have been very fortunate,” said Squire Leech, soberly. “I congratulate you both.”
“Thank you,” said Herbert, who privately14 thought their visitor looked excessively annoyed at their good fortune.
“I will see you about the house,” he said, as he rose to go.
“Well, the squire congratulated us,” said Herbert, after he went away; “but he didn't look happy when he did so. I shouldn't wonder if he accepted our terms, now that he knows we needn't sell.”
Herbert proved to be right. Two days later the squire offered six hundred dollars over the mortgage for the place, and it was accepted.
“The place is worth more, mother,” he said; “but it will relieve us from care to sell it.”
James was even more annoyed than his father when he heard of Herbert's good fortune; but after his first annoyance15 he showed a disposition16 to be friendly. It is the way of the world. Nothing makes us sought after like a little good fortune. James felt that, now Herbert was in a position to live without work, he was a gentleman, and to be treated accordingly. Herbert received his overtures17 politely, but rated them at their real value.
Two years slipped away.
Herbert has finished his course at the academy, and is about to enter the manufactory as an office clerk. Mr. Cameron means to promote him as he merits, and I should not be at all surprised if our young friend eventually became junior partner. He and his mother have bought the house into which they moved, and have done not a little to convert it into a tasteful home. The invention has proved all that Mr. Cameron hoped for it. It has been widely introduced, and Herbert realizes as much from his own half as Mr. Cameron agreed to pay for that which he purchased. So his father's invention has proved to be Herbert Carter's most valuable legacy.
Squire Leech has been unfortunate. Too late he found, that Andrew Temple had deceived and defrauded18 him. All his large property, except a few thousand dollars, has been swept away, and James, disappointed in his lofty hopes, last week applied19 to Herbert to use his influence to obtain him a situation in Mr. Cameron's establishment. There was no vacancy20 there, but our hero has found him a place in a dry-goods store in the same town. Whether he will keep it remains21 to be seen. Times have changed since James looked upon Herbert as far beneath him. Now he is glad to be acknowledged as his companion. If James profits by his altered circumstances, the loss of his father's property may not prove so much of a misfortune after all, for wealth is far from being the greatest earthly good. For our young friend Herbert we may confidently indulge in cheerful anticipations22. He has undergone the discipline of poverty and privation, and prosperity is not likely to spoil him. He has done his duty under difficult circumstances, and now he reaps the reward.
THE END
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1
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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accede
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| v.应允，同意 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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pompously
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| adv.傲慢地，盛大壮观地；大模大样 | |
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6
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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leech
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| n.水蛭，吸血鬼，榨取他人利益的人；vt.以水蛭吸血；vi.依附于别人 | |
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8
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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11
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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14
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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15
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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17
overtures
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| n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲 | |
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defrauded
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| v.诈取，骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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