下载辰思小说免费APP
Assoonastheformoftheinventorywasdrawnup，Massin，advisedbyGoupil(whoturnedtohimundertheinfluenceofhissecrethatredtothepostmaster)，summonedMonsieurandMadamedePortendueretopayoffthemortgagewhichhadnowelapsed，togetherwiththeinterestaccruingthereon。Theoldladywasbewilderedatasummonstopayonehundredandtwenty-ninethousandfivehundredandseventeenfrancswithintwenty-fourhoursunderpainofexecutiononherhouse。Itwasimpossibleforhertoborrowthemoney。SavinienwenttoFontainebleautoconsultalawyer。
“Youaredealingwithabadsetofpeoplewhowillnotcompromise，“
wasthelawyer’sopinion。“TheyintendtosueinthematterandgetyourfarmatBordieres。Thebestwayforyouwouldbetomakeavoluntarysaleofitandsoescapecosts。“
Thisdreadfulnewsbrokedowntheoldlady。HersonverygentlypointedouttoherthathadsheconsentedtohismarriageinMinoret’slife-time，thedoctorwouldhavelefthispropertytoUrsula’shusbandandtheywouldto-dayhavebeenopulentinsteadofbeing，astheynowwere，inthedepthsofpoverty。Thoughsaidwithoutreproach，thisargumentannihilatedthepoorwomanevenmorethanthethoughtofhercomingejectment。WhenUrsulaheardofthiscatastropheshewasstupefiedwithgrief，havingscarcelyrecoveredfromherfever，andtheblowwhichtheheirshadalreadydealther。Toloveandbeunabletosuccorthemansheloves，——thatisoneofthemostdreadfulofallsufferingstothesoulofanobleandsensitivewoman。
“Iwishedtobuymyuncle’shouse，“shesaid，“nowIwillbuyyourmother’s。“
“Canyou？“saidSavinien。“Youareaminor，andyoucannotselloutyourFundswithoutformalitiestowhichtheprocureurduroi，nowyourlegalguardian，wouldnotagree。Weshallnotresist。Thewholetownwillbegladtoseethediscomfitureofanoblefamily。Thesebourgeoisarelikehoundsafteraquarry。Fortunately，Istillhavetenthousandfrancsleft，onwhichIcansupportmymothertillthisdeplorablematterissettled。Besides，theinventoryofyourgodfather’spropertyisnotyetfinished；MonsieurBongrandstillthinksheshallfindsomethingforyou。HeisasmuchastonishedasI
amthatyouseemtobeleftwithoutfortune。Thedoctorsooftenspokebothtohimandtomeofthefuturehehadpreparedforyouthatneitherofuscanunderstandthisconclusion。“
“Pooh！“shesaid；“solongasIcanbuymygodfather’sbooksandfurnitureandpreventtheirbeingdispersed，Iamcontent。“
“Butwhoknowsthepricetheseinfamouscreatureswillsetonanythingyouwant？“
NothingwastalkedoffromMontargistoFontainebleaubutthemillionforwhichtheMinoretheirsweresearching。Butthemostminutesearchmadeineverycornerofthehouseafterthesealswereremoved，broughtnodiscovery。Theonehundredandtwenty-ninethousandfrancsofthePortendueredebt，thecapitalofthefifteenthousandayearinthethreepercents(thenquotedat76)，thehouse，valuedatfortythousandfrancs，anditshandsomefurniture，producedatotalofaboutsixhundredthousandfrancs，whichtomostpersonsseemedacomfortingsum。Butwhathadbecomeofthemoneythedoctormusthavesaved？
Minoretbegantohavegnawinganxieties。LaBougivalandSavinien，whopersistedinbelieving，asdidthejusticeofpeace，intheexistenceofawill，cameeverydayatthecloseofeachsessiontofindoutfromBongrandtheresultsoftheday’ssearch。Thelatterwouldsometimesexclaim，beforetheagentsandtheheirswerefairlyoutofhearing，“Ican’tunderstandthething！“Bongrand，Savinien，andtheabbeoftendeclaredtoeachotherthatthedoctor，whoreceivednoin
