St. Peter's Umbrella Part 13

Gaspar did not wish to say any more about the matter, for fear of awakening the lawyer's suspicions, but a day or two afterward he sent a tiny cask of Tokay wine to him (some Pal Gregorics had left in his cellar, and which they had divided among them), with the inquiry as to whether he had any answer from Budapest. Sztolarik sent back word he expected a letter every minute, and thanked him very much for the wine; he also remarked to the footman who had brought it that he hoped it would go smoothly, but whether he meant the wine, or something else, the footman did not quite understand.

Hardly had the man gone, when the expected letter arrived, containing the news that Gyuri agreed to the sale of the orchard, and Sztolarik was just going to send one of his clerks to Gaspar, when the door opened, and in walked Boldizsar Gregorics, puffing and blowing from the haste he had made.

"Pray take a seat, Mr. Gregorics. To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

"I've brought you a lot of money," gasped Boldizsar, still out of breath.

"We can always do with plenty of that," said the lawyer.

"I want to buy that poor orphan's little bit of property, 'Lebanon.'"

"'Lebanon'?" repeated Sztolarik, surprised. "What on earth is the matter with them all?" he muttered to himself; then continued out loud: "Perhaps you want it for your brother?"

"No, no, I want it for myself. It would suit me nicely; the view from there is so lovely, and the fruit-trees are so good."

"It is really strange, very strange!"

"Why is it strange?" said the other, surprised.

"Because I have already one purchaser in view."

"Well, we won't let him have it. I daresay I can offer you more than he."

"I doubt it," said the lawyer; "the first offer was 15,000 florins."

Boldizsar showed no surprise.

"Well, I offer 20,000."

Not till after he had said it did it occur to him that the orchard was not worth even 15,000 florins, and he turned impatiently and asked:

"Who is the fool who offers so much?"

"Your brother Gaspar."

At this name Boldizsar turned deathly pale, and dropped gasping on to a chair. His lips moved, but no sound came from them, and Sztolarik thought he would have a stroke, and rushed out for some water, calling for help as he went; but when he returned with the cook armed with a rolling-pin and a jug of water, the old gentleman had recovered, and began to excuse himself.

"I felt a bit giddy; I often have attacks like this. I'm getting old, you see. And now to return to our discussion. Yes, I'll give you 20,000 florins for 'Lebanon,' and pay the money down."

The lawyer thought a minute, then said:

"We can't manage things so quickly, for we must have the consent of the Court of Chancery. I'll see about it at once."

And he was as good as his word, for such an advantageous sale of the orchard he had never dared to hope for. But all the time he was wondering why the two Gregorics were so anxious to have it. There must be some reason for it. Supposing they had struck upon some treasure there, it was not impossible, for had not King Arpad and his successors lived about here? He decided to send Istvan Drotler, the civil engineer, to have a look at the place, and see if it contained gold or coal. But before he had time to start for the engineer's, Gaspar Gregorics appeared on the scene, to ask if there were any letter from Pest.

Sztolarik was in difficulties.

"The letter is here, yes, the letter is here; but something else has happened. Another purchaser has turned up, and he offers 20,000 florins for 'Lebanon.'"

This was evidently a great blow for Gaspar.

"Impossible," he stammered. "Is it Boldizsar?"

"Yes."

Gaspar was furious; he began to swear like a trooper, and waved his stick about, thereby knocking down one of Mrs. Sztolarik's flower-pots, in which a rare specimen of hyacinth was just blossoming.

"The wretch!" he hissed. And then he sat staring fixedly in front of him for some time.

How did he get to know of it? was the question he was revolving in his mind. It was very simple. That sly Prepelicza had easily found out in Besztercebanya that Pal Gregorics had more than one brother living, and he decided that if one of them paid him 250 florins for the secret, the other would perhaps be inclined to pay something too. So he got into the train, travelled to Besztercebanya, and looked up Boldizsar. There was nothing surprising in that except, perhaps, the fact that Prepelicza was not such a fool as he looked.

"Oh, the wretch!" Gaspar kept on saying. "But he shall not have it, I _will_ buy it. I'll give you 25,000 florins for it."

Sztolarik smiled and rubbed his hands.

"It will belong to the one who gives most for it. If it were mine, I would give it you for the 15,000 florins you offered at first, for I always keep my word. But as it belongs to a minor, and I have his interests at heart, I must do the best I can for him. Now don't you think I am right?"

Gaspar agreed with him, and tried to make him promise to give him the preference. But what was the good of it? Sztolarik met Boldizsar that evening at the club, and made no secret of the fact that Gaspar had been to see him that morning, and offered him 5000 florins more for the orchard. But Boldizsar was not surprised, and only answered:

"Well, I will give 30,000."

And this mad auction went on for days, until the attention of the whole town was drawn to it, and people began to think the Gregorics must have gone mad, or that there must be some important reason for their wis.h.i.+ng to have possession of "Lebanon."

Gaspar came and offered 32,000 florins, and as soon as Boldizsar heard of it, he came and offered 3000 florins more; and so on, until people's hair began to stand on end.

"Let them go on as long as they like," thought the lawyer.

And they did go on, until they reached the sum of 50,000 florins, which was Boldizsar's last offer. And heaven only knows how long it would have gone on still.

The engineer had been to look at the place, and had declared there was nothing of any value to be found there, not even a bit of gold, unless it were the stoppings of some dead woman's teeth.

"But supposing there is coal there?"

"Not a sign of it."

"Then what on earth are the Gregorics thinking of?"

Whatever the reason was, it was certainly to Gyuri's advantage, and his guardian meant to make the most of the opportunity, so he let the two brothers go on bidding till the sum promised was 50,000 florins. He intended to wait till Gaspar capped it with 52,000, and then close the bargain.

But he had reckoned without his host, for one fine day it suddenly occurred to Gaspar it was strange Mrs. Panyoki showed no signs of taking part in the auction. She evidently knew nothing of the existence of the treasure; Prepelicza had not told her the secret, and had thus proved himself a clever man, for if he had told her too, his part in the play was over. Whereas now, when the two brothers had the caldron in their possession, they would be obliged to pay him hush-money to hold his tongue. As Gaspar turned all this over in his mind, he began to find it ridiculous for him and Boldizsar to keep on outbidding each other, thus attracting every one's attention to them, putting money into the boy's pocket, and awakening Mrs. Panyoki's suspicions. And whichever bought "Lebanon" at last would certainly not be left to enjoy it unmolested. So he decided it would be cheaper if they were to work together, buy the estate, share the contents of the caldron, and pay Prepelicza a certain sum yearly to hold his tongue.

So one day the brothers came to terms, and Sztolarik was very surprised when, the next day, the door opened, and in walked Boldizsar and announced that he had thought things over, and come to the conclusion that "Lebanon" was decidedly not worth 50,000 florins, and he had given up all idea of buying it.

"That does not matter," said Sztolarik, "your brother will give us 48,000 for it."

And he waited impatiently till he had a chance of speaking to Gaspar about it. But that good man calmly answered:

"It was very stupid of me to offer so much for it, and I am really grateful to you, Sztolarik, for not taking me at my word at once. Why, I can buy a good-sized estate for the money I offered for it."

The lawyer hardly knew what to do next. He was afraid he had made them go back on their bargain, by letting them carry it on so long, and felt sure he would be the laughing stock of the town, and that Gyuri would reproach him with not looking after his interests properly. So off he rushed to Boldizsar and offered him "Lebanon" for 45,000 florins; but Boldizsar only laughed, and said: