The answer came slowly.
"I reckin, suh, ef it didn"t sound disrespectful, I"d say you was prankin" with me--makin" fun of me, suh."
Judge Priest bent forward in his chair.
"I"m not prankin" with you. It"s my pleasant duty to inform you that at this moment you are the rightful owner of eight thousand pounds."
"Pounds of whut, Judge?" The tone expressed a heavy incredulity.
"Why, pounds in money."
Outside, in the hall, with one ear held conveniently near the crack in the door, Deputy Sheriff Quarles gave a violent start; and then, at once, was torn between a desire to stay and hear more and an urge to hurry forth and spread the unbelievable tidings. After the briefest of struggles the latter inclination won; this news was too marvellously good to keep; surely a harbinger and a herald was needed to spread it broadcast.
Mr. Quarles tiptoed rapidly down the hall. When he reached the sidewalk the volunteer bearer of a miraculous tale fairly ran. As for the man who sat facing the Judge, he merely stared in a dull bewilderment.
"Judge," he said at length, "eight thousand pounds of money oughter make a powerful big pile, oughten it?"
"It wouldn"t weigh quite that much ef you put it on the scales,"
explained His Honour painstakingly. "I mean pounds sterlin"--English money. Near ez I kin figger offhand, it comes in our money to somewheres between thirty-five and forty thousand dollars--nearer forty than thirty-five. And it"s all yours, Peep--every red cent of it."
"Excuse me, suh, and not meanin" to contradict you, or nothin" like that; but I reckin there must be some mistake. Why, Judge, I don"t scursely know anybody that"s ez wealthy ez all that, let alone anybody that"d give me sech a lot of money."
"Listen, Peep: This here letter I"m holdin" in my hand came to me by to-day"s mail--jest a little spell ago. It"s frum Ireland--frum the town of Kilmare, where your people came frum. It was sent to me by a firm of barristers in that town--lawyers we"d call "em. In this letter they ask me to find you and to tell you whut"s happened. It seems, frum whut they write, that your uncle, by name Daniel O"Day, died not very long ago without issue--that is to say, without leavin" any children of his own, and without makin" any will.
"It appears he had eight thousand pounds saved up. Ever since he died those lawyers and some other folks over there in Ireland have been tryin" to find out who that money should go to. They learnt in some way that your father and your mother settled in this town a mighty long time ago, and that they died here and left one son, which is you. All the rest of the family over there in Ireland have already died out, it seems; that natch.e.l.ly makes you the next of kin and the heir at law, which means that all your uncle"s money comes direct to you.
"So, Peep, you"re a wealthy man in your own name. That"s the news I had to tell you. Allow me to congratulate you on your good fortune."
The beneficiary rose to his feet, seeming not to see the hand the old Judge had extended across the desktop toward him. On his face, of a sudden, was a queer, eager look. It was as though he foresaw the coming true of long-cherished and heretofore unattainable visions.
"Have you got it here, suh?"
He glanced about him as though expecting to see a bulky bundle. Judge Priest smiled.
"Oh, no; they didn"t send it along with the letter--that wouldn"t be regular. There"s quite a lot of things to be done fust. There"ll be some proofs to be got up and sworn to before a man called a British consul; and likely there"ll be a lot of papers that you"ll have to sign; and then all the papers and the proofs and things will be sent acrost the ocean. And, after some fees are paid out over there--why, then you"ll git your inheritance."
The rapt look faded from the strained face, leaving it downcast. "I"m afeared, then, I won"t be able to claim that there money," he said forlornly.
"Why not?"
"Because I don"t know how to sign my own name. Raised the way I was, I never got no book learnin". I can"t neither read nor write."
Compa.s.sion shadowed the Judge"s chubby face; and compa.s.sion was in his voice as he made answer:
"You don"t need to worry about that part of it. You can make your mark--just a cross mark on the paper, with witnesses present--like this."
He took up a pen, dipped it in the ink-well and ill.u.s.trated his meaning.
"Yes, suh; I"m glad it kin be done thataway. I always wisht I knowed how to read big print and spell my own name out. I ast a feller oncet to write my name out fur me in plain letters on a piece of paper. I was aimin" to learn to copy it off; but I showed it to one of the hands at the liver" stable and he busted out laughin". And then I come to find out this here feller had tricked me fur to make game of me. He hadn"t wrote my name out a-tall--he"d wrote some dirty words instid. So after that I give up tryin" to educate myself. That was several years back and I ain"t tried sence. Now I reckin I"m too old to learn. . . . I wonder, suh--I wonder ef it"ll be very long before that there money gits here and I begin to have the spendin" of it?"
"Makin" plans already?"
"Yes, suh," O"Day answered truthfully; "I am." He was silent for a moment, his eyes on the floor; then timidly he advanced the thought that had come to him: "I reckin, suh, it wouldn"t be no more"n fair and proper ef I divided my money with you to pay you back fur all this trouble you"re fixin" to take on my account. Would--would half of it be enough? The other half oughter last me fur whut uses I"ll make of it."
"I know you mean well and I"m much obliged to you fur your offer,"
stated Judge Priest, smiling a little; "but it wouldn"t be fittin" or proper fur me to tech a cent of your money. There"ll be some court dues and some lawyers" fees, and sech, to pay over there in Ireland; but after that"s settled up everything comes direct to you. It"s goin" to be a pleasure to me to help you arrange these here details that you don"t understand--a pleasure and not a burden."
He considered the figure before him.
"Now here"s another thing, Peep: I judge it"s hardly fittin" fur a man of substance to go on livin" the way you"ve had to live durin" your life. Ef you don"t mind my offerin" you a little advice I would suggest that you go right down to Felsburg Brothers when you leave here and git yourself fitted out with some suitable clothin". And you"d better go to Max Biederman"s, too, and order a better pair of shoes fur yourself than them you"ve got on. Tell "em I sent you and that I guarantee the payment of your bills. Though I reckin that"ll hardly be necessary--when the news of your good luck gits noised round I mis...o...b.. whether there"s any firm in our entire city that wouldn"t be glad to have you on their books fur a stiddy customer.
"And, also, ef I was you I"d arrange to git me regular board and lodgin"s somewheres round town. You see, Peep, comin" into a property entails consider"ble many responsibilities right frum the start."
"Yes, suh," a.s.sented the legatee obediently. "I"ll do jest ez you say, Judge Priest, about the clothes and the shoes, and all that; but--but, ef you don"t mind, I"d like to go on livin" at Gafford"s. Pete Gafford"s been mighty good to me--him and his wife both; and I wouldn"t like fur "em to think I was gittin" stuck up jest because I"ve had this here streak of luck come to me. Mebbe, seein" ez how things has changed with me, they"d be willin" to take me in fur a table boarder at their house; but I sh.o.r.ely would hate to give up livin" in that there little room behind the feed room at the liver" stable. I don"t know ez I could ever find any place that would seem ez homelike to me ez whut it is."
"Suit yourself about that," said Judge Priest heartily. "I don"t know but whut you"ve got the proper notion about it after all."
"Yes, suh. Them Gaffords have been purty nigh the only real true friends I ever had that I could count on." He hesitated a moment. "I reckin--I reckin, suh, it"ll be a right smart while, won"t it, before that money gits here frum all the way acrost the ocean?"
"Why, yes; I imagine it will. Was you figurin" on investin" a little of it now?"
"Yes, suh; I was."
"About how much did you think of spendin" fur a beginnin"?"
O"Day squinted his eyes, his lips moving in silent calculation.
"Well, suh," he said at length, "I could use ez much ez a silver dollar.
But, of course, sence----"
"That sounds kind of moderate to me," broke in Judge Priest. He shoved a pudgy hand into a pocket of his white trousers. "I reckin this detail kin be arranged. Here, Peep"--he extended his hand--"here"s your dollar." Then, as the other drew back, stammering a refusal, he hastily added: "No, no, no; go ahead and take it--it"s yours. I"m jest advancin"
it to you out of whut"ll be comin" to you shortly.
"I"ll tell you whut: Until sech time ez you are in position to draw on your own funds you jest drap in here to see me when you"re in need of cash, and I"ll try to let you have whut you require--in reason. I"ll keep a proper reckinin" of whut you git and you kin pay me back ez soon ez your inheritance is put into your hands.
"One thing more," he added as the heir, having thanked him, was making his grateful adieu at the threshold: "Now that you"re wealthy, or about to be so, I kind of imagine quite a pa.s.sel of fellers will suddenly discover themselves strangely and affectionately drawed toward you.
You"re liable to find out you"ve always had more true and devoted friends in this community than whut you ever imagined to be the case before.
"Now friendship is a mighty fine thing, takin" it by and large; but it kin be overdone. It"s barely possible that some of this here new crop of your well-wishers and admirers will be makin" little business propositions to you--desirin" to have you go partners with "em in business, or to sell you desirable pieces of real estate; or even to let you loan "em various sums of money. I wouldn"t be surprised but whut a number of sech chances will be comin" your way durin" the next few days, and frum then on. Ef sech should be the case I would suggest to you that, before committin" yourself to anybody or anything, you tell "em that I"m sort of actin" as your unofficial adviser in money matters, and that they should come to me and outline their little schemes in person.
Do you git my general drift?"
"Yes, suh," said Peep. "I won"t furgit; and thank you ag"in, Judge, specially fur lettin" me have this dollar ahead of time."
He shambled out with the coin in his hand; and on his face was again the look of one who sees before him the immediate fulfillment of a delectable dream.
With lines of sympathy and amus.e.m.e.nt crisscrossing at the outer corners of his eyelids, Judge Priest, rising and stepping to his door, watched the retreating figure of the town"s newest and strangest capitalist disappear down the wide front steps of the courthouse.
Presently he went back to his chair and sat down, tugging at his short chin beard.