Jess of the Rebel Trail Part 24

"Gabriel Grimsby! I cannot believe this of you. I always considered you a man above such things. Are you willing to take money for keeping silent? Would you not be afraid to use it?"

"Afraid! Of what, pray?"

"Of what might happen. Money obtained in such a way never does any good."

"Are you speaking from experience, madame? It was not so in your case, I believe."

Mrs. Hampton made no reply. Her eyes dropped, and, her face flushed.

Grimsby knew that the thrust had gone home, and he again smiled.

"You understand, I see," he continued. "That is the only thing, madame, which will cause me to keep your secret."

"And if I don't give you anything?"

"You will have to take the consequences. Are you willing to do that?"

"No, no! This must never be known. How much do you want? Tell me quick, and let us get through with this terrible business."

"I am quite as anxious as you are, madame. The amount depends upon how much you are prepared to give."

"You want me to mortgage this place, I suppose. You will not be satisfied with a small amount."

"Indeed I shall. Surely you must have some money on hand now. That will be sufficient for the present. Then, when you sell your mine, you might remember your benefactor."

"Benefactor! Robber you should say," Mrs. Hampton indignantly retorted. "To think that I should be held up by such a person as you.

But it cannot be helped, I suppose. Will one hundred dollars satisfy you? It is all I have."

Grimsby bowed, and waved his hand in an eloquent manner.

"It will be very acceptable to me just now. One hundred dollars! It seems like a fortune to me. It will do nicely."

Mrs. Hampton rose to her feet, and remained for a few seconds thoughtfully silent. Then she turned toward Grimsby.

"If I give you this money, Gabriel, how can I trust you to keep this secret?"

"I give you my word of honour, madame. Bring the Bible, and I shall swear by it."

Mrs. Hampton gave a deep sigh as she turned toward the door of the house. "I am afraid, Gabriel, that your word of honour isn't worth much, and that the Bible wouldn't make any difference. However, I suppose I shall have to trust you. Just wait a minute."

Grimsby was greatly pleased with himself now. His eyes were turned toward the river, fixed upon the white sail which was much nearer. He had accomplished his object easier than he had expected. In a short time Mrs. Hampton returned, and handed him a roll of bills.

"There, you will find the full amount," she quietly told him. "It is all I have in the house. I hope you are satisfied."

Grimsby was about to speak, when a raucous toot of an auto down the road caused Mrs. Hampton to turn suddenly. At once her face went very white, and she laid her hand heavily upon the man's arm.

"It's John!" she gasped. "Leave at once!"

In an instant Grimsby was on his feet. He seized his hat, leaped down the steps, rushed toward the gate, and was walking rapidly down the road as the car sped up. The driver hailed him in pa.s.sing. He waved in reply, and then hurried on his way. Grimsby was not anxious to meet John Hampton just then.

CHAPTER XV

TWO WOMEN'S TROUBLES

After stopping his car before the cottage, John Hampton alighted and gave a quick glance toward the "Eb and Flo," now abreast of Beech Cove.

He then turned, opened the gate, and hurried up the path to the house.

His every movement was expressive of abounding health and buoyant vitality. As Mrs. Hampton met him on the verandah, her eyes kindled with pride. He was so big and manly, and his bronzed, clean-shaven face glowed with animation. He stooped to kiss her, and then holding her at arm's length looked anxiously into her eyes.

"Mother dear, what is the matter?" he asked. "You are so pale."

"I have been worrying about you, John," Mrs. Hampton evaded, while a wan smile flickered about the corners of her mouth. "I was afraid something had happened to you."

"I was unavoidably delayed, mother. I hoped to get home last night, but it was late before I saw Mr. Perkins. He kept me waiting a long time."

"Will he buy the mine?" Mrs. Hampton was eagerly alert now, and some of the colour had returned to her cheeks.

"He would give me no definite answer, mother. He put me off as usual."

"But he knows the value of the mine, does he not?"

"Oh, yes. He had an expert make a report, which is very favourable, so I understand. The seam is a long one, but it only comes to the surface on our place, which will make the mining very easy. Deep shafts would have to be sunk elsewhere, which would make the work most expensive. I wish to goodness we could mine it ourselves."

"That is out of the question, John," and Mrs. Hampton sighed.

"Your--your father often talked to me about it, and I remember how he planned, to form a company, which would build a small railway line into the mine. But his sudden death upset everything. I have been trying for years to interest men of money, but so far without any success.

Now, however, with coal at such a price and hard to obtain, I have been hoping that we might succeed."

"Mr. Perkins wants it for almost nothing, mother; that is the trouble.

The mine is so far back, he said, that it would cost almost more than it is worth to bring it to the river. I know that is all nonsense, and told him so."

"Isn't there someone else, John?"

"Only one I know of, and that is Mr. Randall, the lumber merchant. But he refused point blank to have anything to do with it. He was very nasty and said his business was lumbering and not mining. I thought he would kick me out of his office, he was so ugly."

"That was last night, you say?"

"Yes, just before six o'clock."

"He had not heard, then, of his daughter's terrible deed."

John started, and looked keenly into Mrs. Hampton's face.

"Why, what have you heard, about his daughter, mother?" He tried to be calm, but his heart was beating rapidly.

"I heard that she drowned herself last night."

"Who told you that?"