hearted. Sister's eyes were red from weeping; Old
Lem Camp sat at the table, muttering and playing with his food again
instead of eating.

But Hiram felt as though he could not give up to the disaster that had
come to them. The thought that--in some way--Pepper was taking an unfair
advantage of Mother Atterson knocked continually at the door of his
mind.

He went over, to himself, all that had passed in the kitchen the day
before when the real estate man had come to speak with Mrs. Atterson.
How had Pepper spoken about the option? Hadn't there been some hesitancy
in the fellow's manner--in his speech, indeed? Just what had Pepper
said? Hiram concentrated his mind upon this one thing. What had the man
said?

"The option had--er--one year to run."

Those were the fellow's very words. He hesitated before he pronounced
the length of time. And he was not a man who, in speaking, had any
stammering of tongue.

Why had he hesitated? Why should it trouble him to state the time limit
of the option?

Was it because he was speaking a falsehood?

The thought stung Hiram like a thorn in the flesh. He put away the tool
with which he was working, slipped on a coat, and started for Henry
Pollock's house, which lay not more than half a mile from the Atterson
farm, across the fields.

CHAPTER XIX. THE REASON WHY

HIRAM found Abel Pollock mending harness in the shed. Hiram opened his
business bluntly, and told the farmer what was up. Mr. Pollock scratched
his head, listened attentively, and then sat down to digest the news.

"You gotter move--jest when you've got rightly settled on that place?"
he demanded. "Well, that's 'tarnal bad! And from what Henry tells me,
you're a young feller with idees, too."

"I don't care so much for myself," Hiram hastened to say. "It's Mrs.
Atterson I'm thinking about. And she had just made up her mind that she
was anchored for the rest of her life. Besides, I don't think it is a
wise thing to sell the property at that price."

"No. I wouldn't sell if I was her, for no sixteen hundred dollars."

"But she's got to, you see, Mr. Pollock. Pepper has the option signed by
her Uncle Jeptha----"

"Jeptha Atterson was no fool," interrupted Pollock. "I can't understand
his giving an option on the farm, with all this talk of the railroad
crossing the river."

"But, Mr. Pollock!" exclaimed Hiram, eagerly, "you must know all about
this option. You signed as a witness to Uncle Jeptha's signature."