His house and lands were all mortgaged to his rich neighbor, and he had not a dollar to pay him to prevent foreclosure. It seemed like a providence when the rich widower cast his covetous eyes on lovely Leola, and offered, if Hermann could get her to marry him, to release the debt.
It was fifteen thousand dollars, but Wheatlands, with its wide-spreading acres, was worth twice as much, and it was terrible to thus sacrifice the home of his forefathers; so Hermann, who had burned up all that money in his foolish and mysterious experiments, decided that Leola must be sacrificed to pay the debt, since there was no other way.
But how to obtain her consent he did not know, and, since the morning when she had so angrily repulsed him, the subject had tacitly dropped between them, Hermann realizing that his end could only be gained by force and cunning.
Bennett’s story about a possible rival put a new element of trouble into the affair, so he set himself to investigate matters by calling the governess to account.
When he summoned her to the library she thought he only wanted to go over some housekeeping accounts with her, or possibly to pay some arrears of her salary long overdue.
Visions of a new gown and bonnet floated joyfully before her mind’s eye, but she was soon undeceived.
“Who and what of this young dandy who is making so free of my house these two weeks?” he demanded.
Miss Tuttle bridled, and tried to blush like an eighteen-year-old girl.
“Oh, Mr. Hermann, the most charming young man—he’s a boarder at Widow Gray’s, and is most attentive,” she simpered.
“So I have heard, but who is he after—Leola?” he demanded.