"I shan't make any violent opposition, Mr. Packard. But what will your nephew in Rochester say?"
"Of course Eben won't like it, but I claim a right to do what I like with my own. I shall not disinherit his family wholly, but what I leave to them will be so tied up that Eben can't get at it. It is amusing, the change that came over him when he learned that I was not a destitute cowboy, but a man of property."
The next day Mrs. Rollins was installed at the hotel, and Mr. Packard began to look around for a house such as he desired.
"There shall be a nice room for you, Uncle John," he said. "I will promise to treat you as well as Eben did."
"I can pay for my board, Giles. I don't want to cost you too much."
"You will pay for your board when I send in a bill. Don't trouble yourself till then."
"But I am able to work, Giles."
"I may find some light work for you, Uncle John, just to keep you from being uneasy."
Mr. Packard was a man of promptness and energy. He visited a real estate agent, and soon made choice of a medium-sized house in a good neighborhood. This he furnished plainly and quickly, for there is no need of delay where means are abundant. Inside of a month the little family were comfortably established in their new home.
"Will there be room for Fred, my little ward?" asked Rupert.