Roxy Hastings — page 223: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

214 | ROXY HASTINGS. mention it, I wouldn’t mind taking a cool hundred thou- sand.” ‘“‘T shall give you no such thing; I have, after transfer- ring a snug little fortune to grandfather, as he will see by this bank book here—” “To me!” exclaimed the major, taking the kook; “ why, bless the boy, whatam I to do with it? Why, twenty- th——-why ! I’m seventy-eight years old, Charley, and no- body to provide for.” “But you may live to be a hundred and seventy-eight, . grandpa, or a hundred and fifty something, like old Parr. No matter. I want you to feel independent while you do live and to feel at liberty to dispose of it by will, when you die, Please say no more about it—it is yours. As I was going to say, then, I have divided the remainder of the property into four equai parts. I believe there are four of us,” he added, affecting to count upon his fingers. ‘‘Mother, Laura, ;Alfred, and myself; yes, that’s right. I don’t want to be a cent richer than the rest of you, and now lam not. That’s all there is about it.” As Charles spoke he handed to his astonished relations government bonds and certificates of the oil stock in their several names, to the amount which he had named, and then darted out of the room. Laura and Alf made chase, however, and brought him back captive, yet struggling, to receive their varied demon- strations of gratitude. , ‘*He’s a good boy,” said the major, trying to find an un- appropriated part of him to shake, for his hands and arms were captive, and Laura was in his lap, with her arms about his neck; “he’s a good boy, and always was, and we done his duty, excepting this; there was no need of this.’ “ Nor of these,” said his mother ; ‘‘I’m sure I don’t know — what to do with them. You’ll have to take care of it all for me, Charley, any way.” “ Well, I will, mother, until somebody has a better right. : I thought I saw General B—— looking very sharply at you the other night.” ‘So did I—so did I,” said Laura. ‘‘Nonsense, children, you ought to be ashamed.” “Oh, we’re not, though. You are only forty-five, mother, and you don’t look that by half a dozen years. Old Mrs. Bascon was sixty-seven and married a man as old as grandfather. ” “I think Pll look around myself,” said the major, elicit- comicbooks.com