“In the first place, part of the debt is Stephen's.”
“Poor little fellow! And he is to begin life burdened by debt! How much do we owe, Mr. Benson?”
“The estate owes nine thousand dollars.”
“It's a very large sum, I don't know that I ever understood exactly how much it was before.”
“After all my explanations?” he said reproachfully.
“How much is the interest?”
“A trifle over six hundred dollars.”
“And how much is the income?”
“Well, there are the earnings from the farm; last year, in spite of a partial failure of the season, your share sold for five hundred dollars; and of course your actual expenses here are small; the rent from the mill is six hundred and fifty. Then there is the rent of the farm north of town, which is one hundred and fifty more. It figures up thirteen hundred dollars, which leaves you clear something over six hundred dollars.”
“That doesn't seem so bad, does it?” she said hopefully, but she added quickly, “I forgot, the debt itself will have to be paid eventually.” And her face fell.