Dick was very sorry to learn this news.
After he had hauled the wagon into a corner of the yard, and put the horses into the barn, the lad had something to eat and was then taken up to see Hiram Bond, who had been accommodated with a spare room and was the object of considerate attention.
“I’m glad to see you again, my lad,” said Mr. Bond, in a very weak voice, regarding Dick with an earnest expression. “I should like you to stay with me while I last; I will make it all right with you.”
“I shall be glad to stay with you till I can get you back to your home in Albany,” replied Dick, cheerfully. “I’m sure you’ll be all right in a day or two.”
Hiram Bond shook his head.
“I shall never be all right again. This isn’t the first attack of heart failure I’ve had, but I feel it will be the last. I’ve lost all my strength. My insides seem to have collapsed entirely. It is a strange, indescribable sensation that warns me to prepare for my last journey. Boy, it is useless to disguise the truth—I am going to die. The doctor didn’t say so, but I read the fact in his face. He saw that he could do nothing for me. Well, it matters little whether I die now or a little later on. I have no kith or kin to whom my death would be a blow. I am entirely alone in the world. At one time it was different, and I was well off; but now my team and the few dollars in my pocket-book represent all my earthly possessions. My boy, I have been thinking of you while I have been stretched on my back. You are beginning life quite as friendless, I might say, as I am leaving it. But you appear to have energy and the capacity for hard work. I have little doubt but you will succeed. You have been kind to me and I wish I was in a position to return the favor substantially. What little I can do for you to help you along I will do. You shall have my team to use or dispose of as you may think best. The money I possess will scarcely more than recompense Farmer Haywood for his trouble and pay the expenses of my funeral. I should like to be buried in some quiet spot—the nearest village burying-ground. If you will see that this is done, it is all I ask of you.”
Dick was exceedingly shocked as he listened to the words of the dying man—for that Hiram Bond really was passing away, slowly but surely, there didn’t seem to be any doubt.
When he finished, he asked the boy to fetch Farmer Haywood.
He requested the farmer to execute a bill of sale, which he signed with difficulty, transferring his wagon and team of horses to Dick.
After that was done he seemed to feel better.