don't believe you could get more'n a thousand
dollars cash for the place."

"There would be a deficiency judgment, then," said the millionaire.

"Well, that's what I wanted to ask you about. I supposed the law was
arranged some way so you'd get your money. It's no more'n right. But it
seems a kind of a pity for you and me to go to law. There ain't nothing
between us. I had the money, and you the same as loaned it to me. It was
money you'd saved up again old age, and you'd ought to have it. If I'd
worked the place and kep' it up right, it would be worth more, though of
course property's gone down a good deal. But mother and the girls got
kind of discouraged and wanted me to go to peddlin' fruit, and of course
you can't do more'n one thing at a time, and do it justice. Now if you
had the place, I expect you could afford to keep it up, and I wouldn't
wonder if you could sell it; but you'd have to put some ready money into
it first, I'm afraid."

Mr. Anthony pushed a pencil up and down between his thumb and
forefinger, and watched the process with an inscrutable face. His
visitor went on:--

"I was thinking if we could agree on a price, I might deed it to you and
give you a note for the balance of what I owe you. I'm getting on kind
of slow, but I don't believe but what I could pay the note after a
while."

Mr. Anthony kept his eyes on his lead pencil with a strange, whimsical
smile.

"Edmonson owed me two thousand dollars," he said, "the mortgage really
cost me that; at least it was all I got on the debt."

The visitor made a regretful sound with his tongue against the roof of
his mouth.

"You don't say so! Well, that is too bad."

The thatch above the speaker's eyes stood out straight as he reflected.

"You're worse off than I thought," he went on slowly, "but it don't
quite seem as if I ought to be held responsible for that. I had the
thousand dollars, and used it, and I'd ought to pay it; but the
other--it was a kind of a trade you made--I can't see--you don't
think"--

Mr. Anthony broke into his hesitation with a short laugh.

"No, I don't think you're responsible for my blunders," he said soberly.
"You say property has gone down a good deal," he went on, fixing his
shrewd eyes on his listener. "A good many other things have gone down.
If my money will buy more than it would when it was loaned, some people
would say I shouldn't have so much of it. Perhaps I'm not entitled to
more than the place will br