“mr. ross was very polite, andy,” said mrs. gordon.

“then he didn’t say anything rude or insulting?”

“no; far from it. he was very pleasant. he is acting only as the agent of mr. starr.”

andy was puzzled.

“did he say anything about a quarrel between his son herbert and myself?” he inquired.{42}

“not a word. i didn’t know there had been one.”

thereupon andy told the story with which we are already familiar.

“i thought he had come about that,” he said.

“i wish he had. it wouldn’t give us as much trouble as this note. he says we will have to pay it if we can’t find the receipt.”

“i wish old starr was choked with one of his own turnips,” said andy, indignantly.

“don’t speak so, andy!”

“i mean it, mother. why, the old swindler knows that the note has been paid, but he means to get a second payment because we can’t prove that it has been paid once.”

“it is very dishonorable, andy, i admit.”

“dishonorable! i should say it was. he knows that we are poor, and have nothing except your pension, while he is rich. he was too mean to marry, and has no one to leave his money to, and he can’t live many years.”

“that is all true, andy.”

“i would like to disappoint the old skinflint.”

“the only way is to find the receipt, and i am afraid we can’t do that.”

“i’ll hunt all the evening,” said andy, resolutely. “it may come to light somewhere.”

“i have hunted everywhere that i could{43} think of, and i am afraid it must be as i have long thought, that your poor father carried it away with him when he left for the army.”

“if that is the case,” said andy, seriously, “we can never find it.”

“no; in that case mr. starr has us at his mercy.”

“what can we do?”

“mr. ross says he may agree to receive payment by installments from my pension.”

“he shan’t get a cent of your pension, mother!” said andy, indignantly.

“or else,” continued the widow, “he may levy on our furniture.”

“did mr. ross say that?” asked andy.

“yes.”

“i begin to think,” thought andy, “that mr. ross himself is interested in this matter. in spite of what he says, i believe he means to punish us for what passed between herbert and myself.”

if this was the case, andy felt that matters were getting serious. all the more diligently he hunted for the lost receipt, leaving not a nook or cranny of the little cottage unexplored, but his search was in vain. the receipt could not be found.

“mother,” said he, as he took the candle to go to bed, “there’s only one thing left to do.{44} to-morrow is saturday, and i shan’t need to go to school. i’ll call on mr. starr, and see if i can’t shame him into giving up his claim on us.”

“there’s no hope of that,” said mrs. gordon. “you don’t know the man.”

“yes, i do! i know he is a mean skinflint, but i can’t do any worse than fail. i will try it.”