"No. I was short of change. You see I changed a gold piece for the boy yesterday. Besides, I wasn't sure the piece was good, seeing who offered it." "Then he didn't get his whisky?" "No. He went away disappointed. I don't doubt, Ernest, that the gold piece was one of yours. How did the fellow get in?" "Through the window. I found it open when I woke up." "You must have slept sound." "I did. I slept an hour later than I generally do." "Was anything else taken?" "Not that I could discover." "Do you mean to say that your uncle had but ten dollars?" asked Joe incredulously. "It was all he had in the trunk." "I always thought him a rich man." "He was not," said Ernest quietly. "Was that all the money he had? He had the reputation of being a miser, with hoards of gold hidden in or near the cabin." "I know of one sum of money he had concealed, but it was not a large amount." "I'm glad you won't be left penniless, lad; did he own the cabin?" said Luke. "Nobody owned it," said Joe Marks. "It was built years ago by a man who suddenly left it and went away, nobody knew where. It wasn't worth much, and no one ever took the trouble to claim it. When your uncle came here he found it empty and took possession of it, and there he has lived ever since. So you'll have some money, Ernest?" "Only a hundred dollars." "What will you do? What are your plans?" "I don't know. I haven't had time to think." "I might find a place for you in the store. We wouldn't like to have you go away." "Thank you, Joe. You are very kind. But there's no chance for me around here. I'll take the money and go somewhere. But first I must see Uncle Peter buried. Will you help me?" "To be sure we will. Was he your only relation?" "He was not my relation at all." "Why, you have always called him uncle." "I supposed him to be my uncle, but yesterday he told me that he was only a servant in my father's family, and that on my father's death he was placed in charge of me." "I reckon that's so. You didn't favor the old man at all. You look as if you came from better stock." "All the same I shall miss him," said Ernest sadly. "He was a good friend to me." "Did he tell you whether you had any kin?" "Yes; I have a cousin of my father's living in New York State. He is a rich man. He inherited the property that ought to have gone to my father." "How did that happen?" "He prejudiced my grandfather against my father, and so the estate was willed to him." "The mean scoundrel!" exclaimed Luke indignantly. "I'd like to have him in my hands for a few minutes; I'd give him a lesson." "I should pity him if ever you got hold of him, Luke," said Joe Marks. "But we must consider what we can do for the boy." "I wish we could get hold of that thief of a tramp!" "Probably we shall. He'll find his way back here sooner or later."