“Yes,” Mrs. Rushton replied. She could not forbear the thrust and added: “Aaron thought it was an apology.”
Aaron Rushton squirmed in his chair a little uncomfortably.
“Never mind what I thought,” he growled. “Go ahead, Mansfield, and then we’ll talk the matter over.”
Mansfield Rushton’s quick eye ran rapidly over the lines while the others watched him.
“Hurrah for Fred and Teddy!” he cried at the 103 end. “They’re boys worth having, eh, Agnes? What’s your opinion, Aaron?” he added slyly.
“They’ve done very well in this case,” his brother was forced to admit, though it cost him a pang. “If this thing really pans out as I hope it will, I’ll see that they get a liberal share of what they turn up.”
“Oh, they’ll get all the pay they want in the fun of hunting for it,” laughed their father. “I know if I were their age, there’d be nothing that would suit me better than searching for hidden gold. I’m so much of a boy even now, that if I were down there I’d go into the thing with the same zest as the boys themselves.”
“I’m going to write to them this very night,” said Aaron, “and send them a little money for current expenses. They may run across somebody who can give them some information, and there’s nothing like a little money to make people talk.”
“Well, I certainly hope you get this, Aaron,” said his brother heartily. “Twelve thousand dollars is a whole lot of money.”
“It certainly is in these hard times,” answered Aaron. “I’ve been hit rather hard in some of my investments lately, and this would do a good deal toward helping me out of the hole.”