“May I?” cried Bigley eagerly.
“Of course,” said my father; and as I saw quite a cloud disappear from poor Bigley’s countenance, I tossed up my cap and cried, “Hurrah!”
Chapter Forty Four.
Bigley Makes a Discovery.
The time glided on and the war did not trouble us, for we were too busy in the Gap, where everything had been restored and even improved, and my father was fighting bravely to recover from the terrible loss the French descent had caused to the property, for the rebuilding of cottages and repairs of machinery, after the store of silver had been taken, left him very much impoverished; but, as he used to say, it was only a question of time to get right.
Bigley worked regularly with me, living at the smuggler’s cottage with Mother Bonnet for his housekeeper; and he used to hear regularly from his father, who expressed no intention of ever returning, merely saying that he was glad that his son was doing so well, and quite accepting the position. He used to send money, but now Bigley had ceased to use it, for he received a regular payment from my father, and this other money used to be sent to a bank.
The mine was fairly productive, but I knew that my father had been compelled to borrow a good deal, and this preyed upon his mind so much that one day he said to me:
“Sep, I think I shall be obliged to sell the Gap, with the mine and all it holds. I don’t like this life of debt, and the prospect of years of toil before I can clear it off.”