“I can. I shall be able to buy it for two thousand dollars.”
“It has been offered for eighteen hundred.”
“So much the better.”
Here Mr. Wilkins entered the house. He was a pleasant looking elderly gentleman, with white hair.
“Well, Mrs. Tarbox, are you ready?” he asked.
“I am very sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Wilkins; but my son Grant, who has just returned from California, wants me to have a home of my own.”
“Why, why; so Grant is back—and looking stout and rugged. Have you done well, Grant?”
“Yes, Mr. Wilkins; far better than I expected. I am able to provide my mother with a home of her own, and while we appreciate your kind offer, she will be happier and more independent living so.”
“I won’t say a word against it, though I am disappointed. Your father was an old friend of mine, and I would like to have had his widow in my home. But I am pleased with her better prospects.”
“Please don’t mention my plan for her. I want to take some people by surprise.”