And they did go on, until they reached the sum of 50,000 florins, which was Boldizsár's last offer. And heaven only knows how long it would have gone on still.
The engineer had been to look at the place, and had declared there was nothing of any value to be found there, not even a bit of gold, unless it were the stoppings of some dead woman's teeth.
"But supposing there is coal there?"
"Not a sign of it."
"Then what on earth are the Gregorics thinking of?"
Whatever the reason was, it was certainly to Gyuri's advantage, and his guardian meant to make the most of the opportunity, so he let the two brothers go on bidding till the sum promised was 50,000 florins. He intended to wait till Gáspár capped it with 52,000, and then close the bargain.
But he had reckoned without his host, for one fine day it suddenly occurred to Gáspár it was strange Mrs. Panyóki showed no signs of taking part in the auction. She evidently knew nothing of the existence of the treasure; Prepelicza had not told her the secret, and had thus proved himself a clever man, for if he had told her too, his part in the play was over. Whereas now, when the two brothers had the caldron in their possession, they would be obliged to pay him hush-money to hold his tongue. As Gáspár turned all this over in his mind, he began to find it ridiculous for him and Boldizsár to keep on outbidding each other, thus attracting every one's attention to them, putting money into the boy's pocket, and awakening Mrs. Panyóki's suspicions. And whichever bought "Lebanon" at last would certainly not be left to enjoy it unmolested. So he decided it would be cheaper if they were to work together, buy the estate, share the contents of the caldron, and pay Prepelicza a certain sum yearly to hold his tongue.
So one day the brothers came to terms, and Sztolarik was very surprised when, the next day, the door opened, and in walked Boldizsár and announced that he had thought things over, and come to the conclusion that "Lebanon" was decidedly not worth 50,000 florins, and he had given up all idea of buying it.
"That does not matter," said Sztolarik, "your brother will give us 48,000 for it."
And he waited impatiently till he had a chance of speaking to Gáspár about it. But that good man calmly answered: