He should not have done it, to be sure, but Abner had a big heart, as Darry well knew, and simply could not resist the pleading of his cousin.
No doubt she meant well, but circumstances had arisen that prevented her from repaying the debt, and for the want of just one hundred dollars the Peakes were in danger of being dispossessed.
Of course the mortgage was in the hands of a money shark, for even little villages boast their loan offices, where some usurer expects to get ten per cent. on his money, and will not hesitate to foreclose if it is not forthcoming.
Abner's friends were all as poor as he was, and besides, he was so bashful about such things that he could never muster enough courage to mention his financial troubles to anybody.
When by degrees Darry managed to draw this story from Mrs. Peake he thought it all over while off on one of his swamp trips, and reached a conclusion.
That very day he stepped into the store of a man who as he chanced to know purchased the few furs that were taken in a season around that section.
He learned that pelts were bringing unusually good prices, and the party quoted as high as eighty cents for fall muskrat skins, properly treated.
When he got home, Darry counted his catch and found that he had some twenty-six in stock; with these he went back to the dealer, and struck a bargain whereby he came away with fourteen dollars in his pocket.
Then he made for the office of the lawyer who held the mortgage, thinking he could pay up the arrears of interest, and bring happiness to the face of his kind benefactress.
Just there he struck a snag.