CHAPTER IX
A BUSINESS CONFIDENCE
Squire Leech lived in a large, square, white house, situated on aneminence some way back from the street. It had bay windows on eitherside of the front door, a gravel walk, bordered with flowers, leading tothe gate, a small summerhouse on the lawn, and altogether was much thehandsomest residence in the village. Three years before, the house, or,at all events, the principal rooms, had been newly furnished from thecity. No wonder the squire and all the family held up their heads, andregarded themselves as belonging to the aristocracy.
In a back room, used partly as a sitting room, partly as an office,the great man and his new superintendent, Amos Banks, were sitting, theevening previous to Herbert’s return home. It may be asked why SquireLeech needed a superintendent. To this I answer that his property,beside the home farm, included two outlying farms, which he preferred tocarry on himself rather than let to tenants. Besides, he had stocksand bonds, to which he himself attended. But the farms required moreattention than he individually was willing to bestow. Accordingly heemployed a competent man, who had the general supervision of them. Hisformer superintendent having emigrated to the West, he had engaged Mr.Banks, who had been recommended to him for the charge. Banks came froma town thirty miles distant, and had never lived in Wrayburn before. Hehad just entered upon his duties, and was talking over business matterswith the squire.
“You will occupy the house on the Ross farm,” said Squire Leech. “Ithink you will find it comfortable. I have always reserved it for mysuperintendent.”
“There is a house on the other farm, I suppose,” said Banks.
“Yes; but that is occupied by a family already. I don’t rent the farm,that is, except about half an acre of land for a kitchen garden. That Ihave prepared to cultivate myself.”
“Precisely,” said the superintendent. “I will tell you why I inquired.You tell me there will be need of another permanent farm workman. Now Iknow an excellent man--in fact, he is a cousin of my own--who would beglad to accept the place.”
“Very well. I have no objection to your engaging him, since you vouchfor him.”
“Oh, yes; he is a faithful and industrious man, and he will be willingto do work for moderate wages. Indeed, he cares more for a permanentplace than high pay. Where he is now, he is liable to be idle for somemonths in the year.”
“Is he a family man?”
“Yes; he has two young children.”
“Of course he will move to Wrayburn.”
“Yes; if he can get a suitable house. In fact, that was what I wascoming at. I thought of your other house, but you say that is alreadyoccupied.”
“Yes; and the family has occupied it for several years. I should notlike to dislodge them.”
“Do you know any other small house my cousin could rent?”
Squire Leech reflected.
“The fact is,” he said, after a pause, “there has not been much buildinggoing on in Wrayburn for several years, and it is hard to find a vacanthouse.”
“I am sorry for that. I am afraid it may interfere with Brown’s coming.”
“There is one house, I think, that would just suit your cousin,” saidSquire Leech, slowly.
“Where is it?”
“It is now occupied by the widow Carter and her son.”
“Is she going to move?”
“She wouldn’t like to.”
“Then how will that help us? Who owns the house?”
“She does; that is, nominally. I hold a mortgage on the place for sevenhundred and fifty dollars, which is more than half the market value.”
“Then it may eventually fall into your hands?”
“Very probably. Between ourselves, I think it probable that she willfail to be ready with the semi-annual interest, which comes due nextweek. She is quite poor--has nothing but this property--and has to sewfor a living, or braid straw, neither of which pays well.”
“Suppose she is not ready with the interest, do you propose toforeclose?”
“I think I shall. I will allow her three or four hundred dollars for hershare of the property, and that will be the best thing she can do, in myopinion.”
Whether or not it would be the best thing for Mrs. Carter, it certainlywouldn’t be a bad speculation for the squire, since the place, asalready stated, was worth fully fifteen hundred dollars. How a rich mancan deliberately plot to defraud a poor woman of a portion of her smallproperty, you and I, my young reader, may find it hard to understand.Unfortunately there are too many cases in real life where just suchthings happen, so that there really seems to be a good deal of truth inthe old adage that prosperity hardens the heart.
If Mr. Banks had been a just or kind-hearted man, he would not haveencouraged his employer in the plan he had just broached; but he wasselfish, and thought he saw in it an easy solution of the difficultywhich he had met with in securing a house for his cousin. He did notknow Mrs. Carter, and felt no particular interest in the question whatwas to become of her if she was ejected from her house. No doubt shewould find a home somewhere. At any rate, it was not his business.
“It seems to me that will be an excellent plan,” he said, withsatisfaction. “How soon can we find out about it?”
“Next week--Tuesday. It is then that the interest comes due.”
“Suppose she is ready to pay the interest, what then?”
“Then I will make her an offer for the place, and represent to her thatit will be the better plan for her to part with it, and so escape thepayment of interest. She has to pay forty-five dollars a year, and thatis a great drain upon one who earns no more than she does.”
“I think you said she had a son; does he earn anything? Or perhaps heisn’t old enough.”
“Yes, he is thirteen or fourteen; still, there isn’t much in a smallvillage like this for a boy to do. He is attending school, I believe.”
“Then, in one way or another, you think there is a good chance of ourobtaining the house,” said the superintendent, with satisfaction.
“Yes, I think so.”
“How would it do to go around and speak to the widow about itbeforehand? I could then write to Brown.”
“As to that, she may be very particular to retain the house, and even ifshe is not provided with the money, succeed in borrowing enough. Now,my idea is to say nothing about it till Tuesday. She may depend upon mywaiting a few days. That I shall not do. If the money is not forthcomingI will foreclose at once, without giving her time to arrange for themoney.”
The superintendent nodded.
“A very shrewd plan, Squire Leech,” he said. “By the way, where is thehouse situated?”
“Only a furlong up the road. It is on the opposite side of the way.”
“I think I remember it. There is some land connected with it, isn’tthere?”
“Nearly an acre. The house is small, but neat. In fact, for a smallplace, I consider it quite desirable. Tomorrow we will ride by it, andyou can take more particular notice.”
They did ride by, as we know, and Squire Leech pointed it out to hissuperintendent. Herbert noticed this, but he did not know that the twomen had formed a scheme for turning his mother and himself out of theircomfortable home, and defrauding his mother of a considerable portionof the small property which his father had left. Had he known this, itwould have filled him with indignation, and he would have felt that evenproperty is no absolute safeguard against the selfish schemes of themercenary and the rapacious.
Herbert Carter's Legacy; Or, the Inventor's Son Page 9