"Me?" John said, in utter bewilderment.
"Yes, father," Harry said, taking his hand, "you are the John Holl. This house, and the business, and the carts and horses, are yours; Captain Bayley has bought them all for you. He would not come here himself, as I wished him, but he asked me to tell you and mother how glad he was to be able to repay, in a small way, he said your great kindness to me, and how he hoped that you would prosper here, and be as happy as you deserve to be. You will be better off than your last gaffer, for he had to pay rent for this house and yard, but, as grandfather has bought the freehold of them all for you, you will have no rent to pay; and therefore I hope, even in bad times, you will be able to get along comfortably. There, father, there, mother, dry your eyes, and look sharp, for I can hear voices in the garden. Evan went to your house after you had gone to bring all the children round here in a cab.
"You will find everything in the house, mother, and you must get a grand tea as soon as possible. I have got a servant for you—for, you know, you must have a servant now."
The next minute the children came bounding in, wild with delight, and a happier party never assembled than those who sat round the table of "John Holl, Dust Contractor," on the evening of his first taking possession of his new property.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE LONELY DIGGERS.
