"Why do you ask?"

"Why do I ask? Well, that's a good one! My father and mother are both dead, and I suppose I am the last of the Rockwoods. I am now out of business, with less than ten dollars in the world; and why do I ask whether my uncle had any property?"

"He had his farm—a quarter section of land," I added.

"How much is it worth?"

"Perhaps it is worth as much as it would cost you to go up there and back."

"That's hopeful."

"There were a couple of horses, a lot of hogs, a log house and barn, and the farming tools."

"Well, what are they worth?"

"They are worth considerable to a person who wishes to live up there."

"But I don't wish to live up there."