"hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" shouted stumpy, as soon as the door had closed upon his amiable grandfather.
he threw up his hat to the ceiling, and demonstrated in the most extravagant manner, to the great amusement of mr. hamilton and leopold. mrs. wormbury cried with joy, and was not less happy than her son.
"come, stumpfield, don't go crazy," said she.
"the house is paid for, mother, and you don't owe a single dollar in the whole world to any man, woman or child—except leopold," shouted stumpy, checking himself at the end of his enthusiastic discourse. "we ought to give him five hundred dollars of this money."
"not a cent of it to me!" protested the skipper of the rosabel; "but you may do it in the other way if you like."[pg 314]
"i will, and i know mother will.—mother," continued stumpy with energy, "we owe all this to leopold. he was honest, clear up to the hub; if he hadn't been, we shouldn't have got a cent of this money which father earned. we should have been turned out of the house on the first of august, and had to grub our way worse than ever. now the house is paid for, and we have nearly eighteen hundred dollars in cash. that will give us over a hundred dollars interest money, which will make it a soft thing for us. no interest money to pay, either; so that we shall be a hundred and fifty dollars better off than we were before; and all because leopold was honest, and did the right thing."
"i am sure i am very grateful to him, for my own and my children's sake," added mrs. wormbury.
"that don't pay any bills, mother," protested stumpy. "leopold's father is in trouble. my beloved grandad will come down upon him like a thousand of bricks, on the first of july, if he don't pay the interest on his note; and le says his father can't do it."
"i'm very sorry," sighed mrs. wormbury.[pg 315]
"that don't pay any bills, mother; and we must do something more than being sorry. i want to lend this money—this eighteen hundred dollars—to mr. bennington right off. he will be able to pay us after this season."
"i think you can safely do this, mrs. wormbury," added the merchant. "i will indorse the landlord's note, and thus guarantee its payment."
"i'm sure i shall be very glad to do so," said the widow, with a cheerful smile, which proved that she meant all she said.
"i shall be very much obliged to you, and consider myself more than paid for anything i have done in this business," replied leopold.
"i am sure you can depend upon mr. bennington," said mr. hamilton. "was any administrator appointed for the estate of your husband, mrs. wormbury?"
"i was appointed administratrix."
"as your husband was not dead at the time, perhaps the appointment does not hold good at present. you had better procure a reappointment. but in the mean time i will be responsible for all your acts, and you may take the[pg 316] landlord's note. i would assist mr. bennington myself if it were not for depriving stumpy of the pleasure of doing so."
the business was finished, and mr. hamilton and leopold returned to the hotel. the widow and her son had a long talk over their sudden accession of fortune; but both of them were painfully perplexed by the revelations of harvey barth's diary. the husband and father had lived more than two years after they believed he was dead; but the events of this period seemed to be forever sealed to them. in what manner he had been saved, and how he came to be in cuba, made a sad mystery to them; but in due time the veil was lifted, and they heard the whole story.
the landlord of the sea cliff house was in the office when his son returned. all the guests had gone to walk on the cliffs, and the house was nearly empty. mr. bennington, as usual of late, was sad, perplexed, and worried. his debts troubled him, and the dreaded first of july was rapidly approaching. jones had already told him he must have the three hundred dollars due him before that time. others were[pg 317] pressing him sorely to pay their bills or notes. two or three had already refused to give him any further credit for supplies for the hotel, the market-man among the number. it looked as though he must suspend on the first day of july.
the finding of the hidden treasure, in spite of what leopold had said about keeping it for the possible heirs of the owner, to be discovered in the future, had given him a strong hope that it might be available to relieve him from his embarrassments. he thought only of using it to pay his debts, and restoring it if the heirs were found. but after dinner the heirs had been found in the family of joel wormbury. his hope from this source was, therefore, plucked away from him almost as soon as it was awakened. if the new yorkers staid till the dreaded pay-day, even the whole of their bills would not pay the amount of his indebtedness; but it was not probable that they would remain at the house more than a day or two longer. the most that he could expect from them was enough to pay jones, who had threatened to force him into insolvency if he was not paid.[pg 318]
everything, therefore looked very gloomy and dark to the landlord, when his son entered the office.
"you were in a great hurry to get rid of the money you found, leopold," said mr. bennington, rather reproachfully.
"i had to be honest, father," replied the son.
"if you had kept still for a few weeks, i might have used the money, and paid it off in the fall. of course i didn't mean to have you keep it; but if i could have had the use of it even a month, it would have saved me. as it is, i must fail," groaned the landlord. "i can't get over the first of july any way in the world."
"how much do you owe, father?" asked leopold.
"about a thousand dollars, which i must pay right off. mr. hamilton's party will probably leave three or four hundred dollars with me; but that won't save me."
"well, father, you shall have money enough to pay all you owe, except the mortgages, to-morrow night," added leopold, lightly.
"what do you mean?" demanded the landlord, opening his eyes.[pg 319]
"by being honest i have made some good friends. after stumpy had paid of the mortgage on his mother's house, which squire moses was on the point of taking from the family, he offered to lend you all the rest of the money which the gold brings."
"stumpy?"
"his mother agreed to it, and you will give her a note for the amount, which mr. hamilton promised to indorse."
"but how much money will there be?" asked mr. bennington, bewildered by this unexpected succor.
"nearly eighteen hundred dollars."
"that will be more than i want."
"you need not take any more than you need; i think the hidden treasure meets your case better than if i had not found the heirs so soon."
"i declare, i feel as if a ten-ton weight had been lifted from the top of my head!" exclaimed the landlord.
"i feel better about it now than i should if i had stolen the hidden treasure," added leopold.[pg 320]
"so do i. but i will take only twelve hundred dollars of this money; and i am satisfied that i shall be able to pay it at the end of the season."
the next day the orion made her excursion to rockland, and leopold and stumpy were invited to join the party. rosabel and isabel were in excellent spirits, and, as the bay was tolerably smooth, so was charley redmond. stumpy, dressed in his sunday clothes, looked more like a gentleman than usual. mr. redmond tried to make fun of him before the girls, but stumpy was too much for him, and retorted so smartly that he turned the laugh upon the fop.
rosabel's long auburn tresses floated on the breeze, and leopold could not help looking at her all the time, thinking that she was the prettiest girl in the whole world. he was very attentive to her, and when the yacht anchored in the harbor of rockland, she permitted him to hand her into the boat.
stumpy, by his assiduous devotion to miss belle, and especially by his sharp and witty retorts upon mr. redmond, had won her regard,[pg 321] and the coxcomb had to step one side. charley was disgusted and had to seek his companions among the older people of the party, to whom he had much to say about these "country swells."
mr. hamilton did his financial business in the city, disposing of the gold at two hundred and nine, as the telegraph reported the rate to be in new york.
in the afternoon the breeze freshened, and, with leopold for a pilot, the yacht sailed up the bay, and the party enjoyed the trip till the last moment, when they landed in rockhaven. in the evening the merchant went to mrs. wormbury's house, and paid her the balance of the eighteen hundred and eight dollars, which the gold had produced. with so much money in the house, the widow and her eldest son could not sleep; but early the next morning mr. bennington received, and gave his note for, twelve hundred dollars of it, leaving stumpy, who was the financier on this occasion, embarrassed with six hundred more. he did not know what to do with it, and leopold advised him to put it in herr schlager's safe. they[pg 322] went to the watch-maker's for this purpose. in front of the shop they saw deacon bowman engaged in an earnest conversation with squire moses wormbury. stumpy heard his grandfather say something about "bonus" as he passed him.
"there's a trade," said he to leopold, as they entered the shop. "my beloved grandad is going to gouge the deacon out of some money, i know by the looks of him."
"deacon bowman looks troubled," added leopold.
"he wants to borrow money, i suppose," replied stumpy. "hark!"
stumpy went out of the shop, and while he pretended to be looking at the goods in herr schlager's window, he listened to the conversation till the two men separated, and the deacon entered the watch-maker's shop.
"you are driving a hard trade, with squire moses," said stumpy, following the deacon into the shop.
"did you hear it?" asked deacon bowman, with a troubled expression.
"i heard part of it. squire moses is to lend you six hundred dollars, and you are to give[pg 323] him a note and mortgage on your house for seven hundred—a bonus of one hundred, besides the interest," added stumpy.
"i did not agree to it, but i want the money very badly. my son, who is in business in portland, is in trouble, and i am raising this money for him," replied the deacon, with a shudder. "if i don't furnish it, my son will be—did you hear the rest?"
"no, sir, i did not, and i don't want to hear it."
"i'm glad you don't."
the deacon's son had forged an indorsement, and if the note was not paid, exposure was certain; and squire moses was taking advantage of the circumstances.
"make the note and mortgage for six hundred dollars to sarah wormbury, administratrix, and here is the money," added stumpy, taking the balance of the proceeds of the hidden treasure from his pocket, rejoiced to be able to help the worthy deacon, and at the same time to head off a mean act of his grandfather.
deacon bowman had heard all about the good fortune which had come to joel wormbury's[pg 324] family, and he readily comprehended where the money in the hands of the young man came from.
"i promised to meet squire moses here in an hour, and give him my final answer," added he. "i will have the papers ready as soon as i can."
herr schlager put the money in his safe, as requested; but in less than an hour deacon bowman came with his papers, the mortgage and note duly signed, acknowledged, and witnessed. he received the money, and his heart seemed to be glad. by the time the business was finished, squire moses arrived, satisfied that the unfortunate deacon would be compelled to accept his hard conditions.
"i shall not want the money, squire moses," said deacon bowman.
"not want it!" exclaimed the old skinflint, taken all aback by this announcement.
squire moses was very anxious to re-invest the sum he had received for the mortgage of joel's place, and he was greatly disappointed to lose so good a speculation as that he had proposed to the deacon.[pg 325]
"i shall not want it; in fact i have been able to make a better arrangement," replied deacon bowman.
"where did you get the money?" demanded the squire.
"your grandson, here, loaned it to me on his mother's account."
if squire moses was disappointed before, he was mad now. he looked daggers at stumpy, who was not afraid of him, now that the debt was paid.
"of course you told him about your son," sneered the money-lender.
"i did not," replied the deacon sadly.
"people will be likely to know all about it now."
"they will be likely to know at the same time that somebody required me to mortgage my place for seven hundred dollars, in order to obtain six hundred," added the deacon, sharply.
squire moses was startled, for he valued his reputation more than his character as known to god and himself.
"perhaps neither of us had better say anything," said he, biting his lip, and leaving the shop.[pg 326]
"we will keep still till squire moses lets on," said stumpy; and everybody except the usurer was pleased.
stumpy went home, and told his mother what he had done in her name, with which she was entirely satisfied. in due time the release and the mortgage were recorded; mrs. wormbury was re-appointed administratrix and guardian of her children, and all other necessary legal steps were taken to prevent any future difficulty, if squire moses was disposed to question the widow's proceedings.
the first of july came. the new york party were still at the sea cliff house, though nearly every day they made an excursion in the orion. they were still enjoying themselves to the utmost, and the hotel grew in favor with them the longer they stayed. mr. bennington had quietly paid every bill presented to him, without informing any one that he was "in funds." squire moses had not been near him; in fact, the old man had been to bangor to look out for a piece of property on which he held a mortgage, and about which there was "a hitch." in his absence, the landlord's creditors, seeing[pg 327] that he was doing a good business, did not disturb him. even jones kept away till the first day of the month; but when he presented himself, his note was promptly paid.
while he was still in the office of the hotel, squire moses, who had just returned from bangor, entered, with his mortgage note in his hand. he was very cross and very ugly, for he was in peril of losing the whole or part of the money he had loaned on the bangor property. as he had stirred up all the landlord's creditors, he was confident that mr. bennington would not be able to pay him.
"i want the interest money to-day," said he, sharply as he stepped up to the counter, behind which the landlord stood.
"can't you wait till next week? when these new york folks leave, i shall have more money than i have now," replied mr. bennington, who, knowing just what his hard creditor wanted, was disposed to thorn him a little.
"i must have the money to-day," added squire moses more mildly, for he began to feel that the business was in just the condition he wished it to be.[pg 328]
"it has been a pretty tight time with me for money," pleaded mr. bennington.
"it has with everybody; but if you can't pay me my interest money, say so."
"but suppose i can't pay it; you won't be hard with me—will you?"
"i expect folks to do just what they agree to do. i don't want any long stories about it," added squire moses, who was secretly happy.
"waiting till next week won't make any difference with you."
"i think i know my own business best. i understand you to say you can't pay. here is jones, and in his presence, as a witness, i demand the money."
"just so," replied the landlord; "but if—"
"no buts about it, mr. bennington. i don't want to talk all day about nothing. you can't pay; that's enough;" and the squire moved towards the door, followed by jones, who desired to pay his note.
"squire wormbury," called the landlord, "one word."
the usurer walked back to the counter, determined, however, not to prolong the argument.[pg 329] mr. bennington took a well-filled pocket-book from the iron safe, from which he counted out the amount due the squire.
"i thought you said you couldn't pay it," growled squire moses, whose heart sank within him when he saw the bottom drop out of the nice little plan—a very stupid one, by the way—which he had arranged with ethan.
"i didn't say so. i only asked if you would wait till next week," laughed the landlord.
"fooling with me—were you?" snapped the squire.
"i understood a while ago that the sea cliff house was to have a new landlord about the first of july, and i wanted to see how you felt about it to-day."
"who said so?"
"well, you and ethan talked it over together. you were to take possession, if i didn't pay the interest, turn me out and put your son ethan in."
"who said i did?"
"no matter about that. you and he had the talk in the parlor of your house; and i can prove it, if necessary."[pg 330]
but the landlord did not wish to do so, for it would expose stumpy, who had given the information to leopold.
"i don't calculate to have anything which the law don't give me," growled squire moses, as he picked up his money, and indorsed the payment on the back of the note.
"the law don't give you the sea cliff house, and it never will," added mr. bennington, as the money-lender turned to leave.
"hold on, squire moses," interposed jones; "i want to take up that note of mine."
"you needn't pay it yet," replied the usurer, who had over a thousand dollars on hand now, which he had been unable thus far to invest, for he did not believe in the government and the war, and refused to buy bonds.
"i want to pay it now. i won't owe you anything after what i have heard to-day. i'm afraid i shall lose my place," answered jones.
the debtor and creditor left together. jones paid his note. people began to believe that it was not prudent to borrow money of squire moses, for he was "tricky" as well as hard.
in the course of that day mr. bennington[pg 331] paid every dollar of his indebtedness in rockhaven. those who had refused him credit were profuse in their apologies, and some of them confessed that they were "put up to it" by squire moses.
the next day the orion departed, with all her party, for new york.
mr. hamilton paid the bill, which amounted to over seven hundred dollars, without a question, and promised to come again the next season. leopold assisted the party in going on board of the yacht, and shook hands at parting with rosabel. he watched the vessel, with the beautiful girl waving her handkerchief to him, till she was out of sight. he was sorry to have her go, for it was a pleasure for him to look at her. he had sailed her to high rock the day before, and she had said a great many pleasant things to him. it was a quiet time at the sea cliff house after the departure of the new york guests, but leopold missed rosabel more than all others, and even then began to look forward to her return.
