The thought of leaving her home was a trouble to Daisy, and she could not for a long while resolve to tell her father what was impending. When she did, he was terribly upset, and cried like a child. He was angry also, and spoke to Daisy as he had not spoken for a long while. Daisy was firm, though grieved, and she told him that it would have to be. They had nothing to live upon, and the house and garden would bring in a nice sum of money.
Isaac seized upon this idea suddenly, as if it were quite new to him. "Bring in money! Why, it'll bring in lots," he said eagerly. "Lots of gold, Daisy!" and the old greedy glitter might be seen in his eyes.
"Father, are you going to love the gold again?" asked Daisy sorrowfully. "You can't love money and love God as well."
But Isaac did not attend to what she said. He was strangely absent and restless, all that evening and all the next day. And instead of his former dislike to parting with the house, he now seemed quite eager to get rid of it as fast as possible. Daisy found the whole thing suddenly taken out of her hands.
The selling of the house was a matter of no difficulty. Mr. Marriott, a wealthy gentleman to whom most of the land in and around Banks belonged, had long wished to add to his possessions Old Meadow and the ground upon which it stood. As soon as he heard of Isaac's intentions, he offered a fair and liberal sum. Isaac Meads closed with the offer immediately, and the affair was quickly settled. Isaac's stipulation, that the full amount should be paid over into his own hands the day before that on which he and Daisy would quit Old Meadow, met with no opposition.
Daisy awaited that day in fear and trembling. A small low-rented cottage was found, and some of the old worn furniture was removed thither. John and Mary Davis would still reside under Isaac's roof, as before. Daisy was becoming quite reconciled to the thought of the move, and she even looked forward with positive pleasure to the tidy bright little cottage, instead of this rambling and gloomy place.
But how if the old money greed were to seize anew upon Isaac, shadowing their lives again?
Isaac's restlessness and abstraction increased day by day. He often refused now to let Daisy read to him out of the Bible, and checked her when she would have spoken of God. His manner quite ceased to be affectionate, and the eager unhappy look, of late absent from his face, was creeping over it once more.
Daisy could do little except pray for him. She had no power to meet the threatening evil.
The day of the money-payment at length came.