“No such luck as that,” he replied, “but it may amount to the same thing in the long run.”
He sat down again, fixed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and again ran over the contents of the letter.
“For goodness’ sake, Aaron, don’t keep me on tenter-hooks!” cried Mrs. Rushton, no longer able to restrain her curiosity. “What can Teddy have to say that makes you feel so good?”
“Here,” he replied, thrusting the letter into her hand, “read it for yourself.”
She took it, while he resumed his pacing, and 101 for the first time in years he actually hummed a tune.
“A chest of gold!” he muttered to himself. “Twelve thousand dollars!”
Mrs. Rushton hurriedly ran over the first few lines of the letter. Then she uttered a frightened exclamation and her cheeks grew pale. She had reached the part where Teddy told of Fred’s daring exploit in diving overboard to rescue Ross.
“A shark!” she exclaimed. “And my Fred in the water!”
“Bother the shark,” cried Aaron impatiently. “It didn’t bite him, did it?”
“No, but it might have,” returned Fred’s mother, in tones that were a blending of pride and terror. “My brave, rash boy!”