Moses dutifully vowed obedience to the injunctions of his venerable sire. He received the sacks with a light heart, for he felt that light was the task imposed upon him. He departed with the pleasing anticipation of a brief sojourn in the distant land and a speedy return to the halls of his ancestors.
CHAPTER XXXV.
"It was the saddest hour of my life when I parted from Rosabel," said Toney to the Professor, as they stood on the platform at the railway in Mapleton waiting for the train which was to convey them to the Monumental City, where they were to embark for California.
"Rosabel was willing that you should go?" asked the Professor.
"The dear girl wept as if her heart was breaking. I never knew how deeply I loved her until then. Only to think that I may be absent for five years! But we both thought that it was better that I should go."
"And make the hundred thousand dollars."
"There can be no hope of our union until I have the hundred thousand dollars. You know the Widow Wild's eccentricity."
"That woman is a profound mystery. And Tom Seddon, whom we expect in the train,—do you think that he can part from Ida?"
"Poor Tom's situation is like mine. He can never hope to marry Ida while her uncle is alive, unless he has an ample fortune."