Green Mountain Freeman

Margaret's Money,

"She has got £5,000," said the old man "and she's a good girl. She'll be a catch for somebody."

Then I thought he looked at me.

"Why should he look at me?" I thought. "I'm not a husband worth angling for. and he knows very well-this man who pays me my small salary every week with his own hands."

Still he did look at me, and I answered with a word or two -I forget what now.

"Yes," he said, talking with a meaning. too, looking at me evidently to see how I took the news; yes, and what do you suppose she does with it? Has it locked up in my fireproof safe in my fireproof vault; doesn't use it in any way; doesn't get interest on it; locks it up as she does her rings and pins, and lets it lie never touched."

"I wonder you don't give her better advice," I said.

"Give a woman advice!" he said. "Try it, However, I approve of this. Better keep her dowry locked up safe than risk and lose it. I'm her guardian. Her father and I had quarreled, you know. But when he died he left her money in my care. A nice thing for an old bachelor to have a young niece quartered on him for life! I'll marry her off as soon as I can. I say, Fisher, come up and take tea with me to-night."

He did mean it! He offered his niece and £5,000 to me. He had never liked me either.

"Shall I go?" I asked myself. I was not a man to be bought by money, if she were a coarse and vulgar creature like her uncle; but otherwise why not see what she was made of? At least it could do no harm to take tea with old Simon Giddings.

I went home with him that evening. I noticed some little changes in the parlor, as though a lady's hand had been busy there, and in a moment more, I saw sitting in the shadow of the curtains a girl dressed in deep mourning.

"Margaret, Mr. Fisher; my niece, Miss Giddings, Tom," said the old man; and as I bowed, I saw a little velvet headed crutch leaning against the girl's chair. She was lame then. Old Giddings thought this an obstacle to her making a good match, so he offered her to Tom Fisher.

It won't do, old man," I thought. "I should not mind a plain face so much, but a lame wife will never do for me," Then something whispered faintly in my ear, £5,000!" For the rest Miss Giddings was fair and pleasant in her manner. She was a lady, too, which seemed odd for old Simon's niece, for he was as vulgar as he was rich; and she sang to us after tea very sweetly. I liked a girl with dash and color. and still her blue eyes and sweet smile haunted me a little after I went home. "She'll never quarrel with one," I thought; "and a woman worth 5,000 would be a catch, certainly; but that crutch I'll stay away from old Simon's house for the future."

But he wouldn't let me stay away; he kept on urging me to go home with him. There was Marion Poor. Perhaps she loved me a little. I admired her intensely; but she had no money, and I should take her away from her snug little home to some poor sort of place if I married her. I should find it hard work to feed and clothe her decently.

This fair, sweet Margaret was rich, and as time passed on I began to see her liking for me. And I sat in the office one day. three months from the time of first visit. wondering whether I could be quite sure that I should be good enough to the little thing I meant to marry for her money, to keep her from knowing that there was no actual love for her in my heart. And as I pondered, the voice of old Simon reached my ears: Tom Fisher, up in the moon again, eh? Well, well, when a fellow is in love, we excuse laziness in him. There's my niece Margaret pouring the tea in the slop basin, and oversetting the milk at breakfast. "Maggie," says I, you're a thinking of some one, an' you? She blushed to her ears. "You've managed to get into some good graces in that quarter, Tom."

Do you think so? " I said.

"I know so," said the old man.

…I ought not to say so, you know, but I'm frank."

I listened to him then, two voices whispering to me.

"You don't love her," said one.

"You don't hate her," said the other. "You do want £5,000," said the other. "It would make a man of you. You could go into business on your account. You'd cease to be a slave in this dingy office."

"Five thousand pounds!" said I to myself. Then I started to my feet.

"Mr. Giddings," I said, "would you be willing to give your niece to me as my wife?"

"Tom Fisher, I'd give her to any decent young man. A girl bothers me. I'm tired of the charge. Every one doesn't want a lame wife. If you like her, take her, and on your wedding day I'll hand the £5,000 to you, and be rid of the charge."

I turned faint and sat down to my desk; but went to old Simon's house that night and saw Margaret. She looked as fair and happy as a child. I sat down by her and took her hand.

"Are you going to say 'No,' Maggie?" I said, and she lifted her innocent lips to mine and kissed me. "I'll be very, very good to you."

But there was no lover's warmth in my heart; only a kind of gentle pity for the girl who was to bring me 5,000. We were engaged. Old Simon joked us coarsely. and seemed to exult over the affair. I might even have doubted the existence of the £5,000, but that Maggie told me of it herself.

"Uncle was keeping it for me to live on when I was an old maid," she said, "but you shall do what you choose with the money when I belong to you. We'll buy a pretty house, shan't we, dear, first of all. and live there all our lives-somewhere where we can have a garden?"

So. after that, I never doubted, but clung to the idea as I could not if I had loved the girl. We were married in a fortnight. Uncle Simon and his old housekeeper alone were present. It had touched me a good deal when Margaret had whispered that she would rather not have a wedding party,

"Fancy the bride limping up the aisle upon a crutch!" she said. "Let me be married with none to stare at me. You love me, so I don't care about being lame any more, but I'd rather not be stared at."

I took her in my arms and kissed her then,

"I'll be good to her," I said, as the clergyman uttered his prayer;-"very, very good;" and I was saying it again when I sat with my wife in old Simon's parlor, and he, coming in, lit the gas, and stood twinkling his eyes at us maliciously.

"So it's over." he said, with his fiendish chuckle. "She's yours; now for the £5,000. I'm going to hand it over to night. I shall sleep better."

I blushed with shame. "Not yet," I said; "don't talk of money yet.'"

"But I will, though; I've got it here." And he unlocked a sideboard which stood in the room and brought out a small roll done up oddly enough in brown paper. "There it is," said he. "there it is! Look at it ; count it. Five thousand. plump. Count it!"

He fairly grinned as he spoke. She smiled. I saw something in his laugh that made me shudder. Without a word more I walked to the table, opened the parcel and spread out the notes. There was 5,000 worth of them, reading the value on their faces; but they were the notes of the Diddleton & Bilkom Bank. which had failed years ago! I had been deceived. The girl I had married was penniless!

… Imposter!' I yelled. Old Simon answered with a roar of laughter.

"Good joke," he said. "I have done what I have promised. You've got the £5,000; I didn't tell you what it was in. Of course such money is of no use to you; but I can't help that. Ha, ha!"

I think I should have given him a blow. but just then I heard Margaret scream. I looked at her. I saw, as I had known before, that she had no hand in the deception. I saw an awful look in her eye, a doubt of my love trembling on her lip. I saw her rise and falter on her poor feet and stretch her arms toward me. I heard her cry. "Thomas I did not know!" and then—oh, thank God for it!"—the love I had never felt before rushed into my heart-a great all-conquering love.

I ran to her. I took her in my arms. I gave her the first kiss of passionate and new born love. and I said: "Margaret, try and bear poverty with me, for I love you better than my soul."

And all Margaret's money-the money that faded before me like fairy gold- could never have given me half the joy that the wealth of love given to and received from her gave me upon my bridal day, gave me in all the first struggling years of wedded life, and will give me, God grant it, until the end.