"Not if the squire backs him as he does; he threatens to foreclose the
mortgage if I don't sell."

Ben comprehended the situation now, and appreciated its gravity.

"What does he offer, Mother?"

"A thousand dollars only--perhaps a little more."

"Why that would be downright robbery."

"Not in the eye of the law. Ben, we are in the power of Squire
Davenport, and he is a hard man."

"I would like to give him a piece of my mind, mother. He might be in
better business than robbing you of your house."

"Do nothing hastily, Ben. There is only one thing that we can do to
save the house, and that is, to induce someone to advance the money
necessary to take up the mortgage."

"Can you think of anybody who would do it?"

Mrs. Barclay shook her head.

"There is no one in Pentonville who would be willing, and has the
money," she said. "I have a rich cousin in New York, but I have not
met him since I was married; he thought a great deal of me once, but I
suppose he scarcely remembers me now. He lived, when I last heard of