CHAPTER XXIV
THE GREAT BURDEN
"By Jove!" said Bunny, in a voice of awe. "I never thought of that! Then--Maud--will be rich, will she? Rich as Croesus! Just think of it! Maud!" He drew a deep breath that ended in a whistle. "Puts a different complexion on things, eh, Jake, old feller?" he said.
"Quite different," said Jake.
He stood at the window, gazing forth into the murky atmosphere with his brows drawn. He looked like a man searching the far distance.
Bunny glanced at him questioningly. "What does she say to it? Was it a great shock?"
"I don't know. I think it was. She said he once offered to provide for the two of you, and leave you provided for at his death. But that was before her marriage."
"And now he's gone and left her the whole caboodle! Say, Jake, what's it come to? Did the lawyer chap give you any idea?"
"No one knew what the old man was worth," Jake said, with his eyes still fixed steadily ahead. "He wasn't very great at spending money. But he owned a large factory, and had a vested interest in several others, besides some thousands in other concerns. The lawyer put it down at not less than two hundred and fifty thousand."
"Jake!" Bunny began to execute an ecstatic war dance behind him.