But they disregarded even this appeal; and he was forced to stand in the
background and see the old piece taken down and laid at length upon the
floor with its face to the boards. There was nothing in its interior but
the works which belonged there, but the frame at its back seemed
unusually heavy, and Etheridge consequently had this taken off, when, to
the astonishment of all and to the frantic delight of Huckins, there
appeared at the very first view, snugly laid between the true and false
backing, layers of bills and piles of sealed and unsealed papers.
"A fortune! A fortune!" cried this would-be possessor of his sister's
hoarded savings. "I knew we should find it at last. I knew it wasn't all
in that box. She tried to make me think it was, and made a great secret
of where she had put it, and how it was all to be for me if I only let
it alone. But the fortune was here in this old clock I have stared at a
thousand times. Here, here, and I never knew it, never suspected it
till----"
He felt the lawyer's eyes fall on him, and became suddenly silent.
"Let's count it!" he greedily cried, at last.
But the Appraisers, maintaining their composure, motioned the almost
frenzied man aside, and summoning Frank to assist them, made out a list
of the papers, which were most of them valuable, and then proceeded to
count the loose bills. The result was to make Huckins' eyes gleam with
joy and satisfaction. As the last number left their lips, he threw up
his arms in unrestrained glee, and cried:
"I will make you all rich some day. Yes, sirs; I have not the greed of
my poor dead sister; I intend to spend what is mine, and have a good
time while I live. I don't intend any one to dance over my grave when I
am dead."
His attitude was one so suggestive of this very same expression of
delight, that more than one who saw him and heard these words shuddered
as they turned from him; but he did not care for cold shoulders now, or
for any expression of disdain or disapproval. He had seen the fortune of
his sister with his own eyes, and for that moment it was enough.
IX.
THE TWO SISTERS.
When Frank returned again to Marston he did not hesitate to tell Edgar
that "he had business relations with Miss Cavanagh." This astonished the
doctor, who was of a more conservative nature, but he did not mingle his
astonishment with any appearance of chagrin, so Frank took heart, and
began to dream that he had been mistaken in the tokens which Miss
Cavanagh had given of being moved by the news of Dr. Sellick's return.
He went to see her as soon as he had supped with his friend, and this
time he was introduced into a less formal apartment. Both sisters were
present, and in the moment which followed the younger's introduction, he
had leisure to note the similarity and dissimilarity between them, which
made them such a delightful study to an interested observer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account