“The court will sit again in about six weeks. As some of the money was offered by the county, and the rest by the men who lost the jewelry and things that were found in that valise, you will get your reward from different parties, unless they hand it over to me to be paid to you in a lump.”
“That’s the way I want it,” said Silas, who was very much disappointed. “I’m going into business.”
“What sort of business?” inquired Mr. Warren.
“I am going to keep a boat-house down to the Beach.”
“Well now, Silas, that’s the most sensible thing I have heard from you in a long time,” said Mr. Warren. “I’ll rent you a piece of ground big enough for a garden, and you can set yourself up in business in good shape, build a nice house, and have money left in the bank. If you manage the thing rightly, you and Dan ought to make a good living of it.”
“Who said anything about Dan?” exclaimed Silas.
“I did. Of course you can’t ignore
him because you are wealthy. He wants a chance to earn an honest living, and he needs it, too. He’s a strong boy, a first-rate hand with a boat, knows all the best fishing-grounds on the lake, and would be just the fellow to send out with a party who wanted a guide and boatman. You can easily afford to pay him a dollar a day for such work as that.”
“Well, I won’t do it,” said Silas, promptly. “He’s a lazy, good-for-nothing scamp, Dan is, and I won’t take him into business along of me.”
“But you will hire him, and give him a chance to quit breaking the game law and make an honest living,” said the sheriff. “By-the-way, Silas, I guess you had better bring up those setters, and save me the trouble of going after them.”