At length the steamer in which the Talbots had taken passage arrived. A coach brought them from the pier to the house. Mrs. Hoffman and Paul were in waiting to receive them. Mrs. Talbot expressed herself pleased with the neat appearance of the house, and Mr. Talbot called Paul aside.
"My young friend," he said, "I deferred, till my return home, the acknowledgment of your very creditable conduct in the defense of my house. You showed a coolness and good judgment remarkable in one of your age. In return for this, and in acknowledgment of the generally satisfactory manner in which you and your mother have kept my house, I ask your acceptance of this pocketbook, with its contents."
When Paul opened it he was astonished and delighted to find that it contained two one-hundred dollar bills.
"One of them properly belongs to you, mother," he said. But Mrs. Hoffman refused to take it.
"No, Paul," she said, "you are the treasurer of our little household. Take this money and add to your savings. Some time you will find it useful in enlarging your business, or entering upon a new one."
"I will put it in the savings-bank, as you recommend, mother; but you must remember that the fund there is yours as much as mine."
"I will promise to call for money, Paul, whenever I want it. I like to think that we have so large a fund to draw upon in case of need."