The Argosy — page 263: what you’re looking at

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

246 In the Dead of Nighi. pounds on Prior’s Croft. He had hinted more than once that he should like to know the secret by means of which a result so remark- able had been achieved, but to all such hints Tom seemed utterly im- pervious. Stull more surprised was the Squire when, a few days after the six thousand pounds had been put into his hands, Tom came to him and said: ‘‘ With regard to Prior’s Croft, sir. You have taken my advice once in the matter: perhaps you won’t object to take it a second time.” ‘‘What is it, Bristow, what is it ?” said the Squire, graciously. “I shall be glad to listen to anything you may have to say.” ‘‘ What I want you to do, sir,” said Tom, ‘is to have some plans at once drawn up, and have the foundations laid of a number of houses— twenty to thirty at the least—on Prior’s Croft.” “T thought you crazy about the mortgage,” said the Squire, with a twinkle in his eye. ‘‘Are you quite sure you are not crazy now?” ‘‘T am just as sane now as I was then.” “‘ But to build houses on Prior’s Croft! Why, nobody would ever live inthem. The place is altogether out of the way.” “That has nothing whatever to do with the question. If you will only take my advice, sir, you will get the foundations down without an hour’s unnecessary delay.” | ‘< And where should I be at the end of a month, when the contractor came to me for the first instalment of his money ?” “All that can be arranged for without difficulty. Your credit is sound in the market, and that is the one thing indispensable.” | ‘‘But what is to be the ultimate result of all these mysterious pro- ceedings ?” ‘‘Now you get meina comer. But I must again crave your in- dulgence, and ask you to let the mystery remain a mystery a little while longer. If you have sufficient faith in me, why, take my advice. If not—you will simply be missing a chance of making an odd thou- ) sand or so.’ ‘‘ And that is what I can by no means afford to do,” said the Squire with emphasis. The result was that a week later some forty or fifty men were busily at work cutting the turf and digging the foundations for the score of grand new villas which Mr. Culpepper had decided on building at Prior’s Croft. Everybody’s verdict was that the Squire must be mad. New villas, indeed! Why there were hardly people enough in sleepy old Duxley to occupy the houses that fell vacant as the older inhabitants died off. “That may be,” said the Squire, when this plea was urged on his notice; ‘‘ but I mean to make my villas so handsome, so commodious, Gomicbooks;com