The Coming Wave Part 30

"So it seems Joel was the pa.s.senger in the Waldo, who buried this money," said the squire, as he put the bills in his pocket; for the discovery made in the parlor of the Sea Cliff House was now following the story of the hidden treasure up the main street.

"That's so," replied Stumpy; "and mother will always have the satisfaction of knowing that this house was all paid for with his earnings."

Squire Moses soon left, with the feeling that he had lost at least a thousand dollars by the finding of the hidden treasure.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE FIRST OF JULY.

"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 amus.e.m.e.nt 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."

"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.

"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 landlord's note. I would a.s.sist 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 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 embarra.s.sments. 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.

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.

"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.

"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 anch.o.r.ed in the harbor of Rockland, she permitted him to hand her into the boat.

Stumpy, by his a.s.siduous devotion to Miss Belle, and especially by his sharp and witty retorts upon Mr. Redmond, had won her regard, and the c.o.xcomb 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, embarra.s.sed 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 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 pa.s.sed him.