As a deacon of the church I couldn't
countenance nothing like that. No gambling!"
"This is not a gamble," Larson assured him. "It's a sure thing.
I'll show you how to make twenty thousand dollars!"
"I--I guess I'd better open a window in here, so we can see," said
Uncle Ezra, faintly. "That's quite a pile of money to talk about
in the dark," and to the horror of Aunt Samantha she saw, a little
later, the sun shamelessly streaming in on her carpet that had only
been treated to such indignities on the occasions of a funeral, or
something like that. The parlor of the Dankville house was like a
tomb in this respect.
CHAPTER XIII
UNCLE EZRA ACTS QUEERLY
Exactly what passed between Uncle Ezra Larabee and his caller, Aunt
Samantha never learned. She was so overcome at seeing the parlor
opened, that perhaps she did not listen sufficiently careful. She
overheard the murmur of voices, and, now and then, such expressions
as "above the clouds," "in the air," "twenty thousand dollars, and
maybe more."
"Gracious goodness!" she murmured as she hurried out to the kitchen,
where she smelled something burning on the stove. "I wonder what
it's all about? Can Ezra have lost money on some of his
investments? If he has, if it's gone up above the clouds, and in
the air, the way he's talking about it things will be terrible;
terrible! It will come nigh onto killin' him, I expect!"
She went back to listen again outside the parlor door, but could
make out nothing.
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