say him no. And that was not all of it, for when the poor boy died he
left fifteen hundred pounds of debt behind him, and I had to find the
money, if it was only for the honour of the family. Of course you know
that we cut the entail when he came of age. Well, and then these
dreadful times have come upon the top of it all, and upon my word, at
the present moment I don't know which way to turn," and he paused and
drummed his fingers uneasily upon a book.

"Yes, father, but you have not told me yet what it is that we owe."

"Well, it is difficult to answer that all in a minute. Perhaps twenty-
five thousand on mortgage, and a few floating debts."

"And what is the place worth?"

"It used to be worth between fifty and sixty thousand pounds. It is
impossible to say what it would fetch now. Land is practically a drug
in the market. But things will come round, my dear. It is only a
question of holding on.

"Then if you borrow a fresh sum in order to take up this farm, you
will owe about thirty thousand pounds, and if you give five per cent.,
as I suppose you do, you will have to pay fifteen hundred a year in
interest. Now, father, you said that in the good times the land
brought in two thousand a year, so, of course, it can't bring in so
much now. Therefore, by the time that you have paid the interest,
there will be nothing, or less than nothing, left for us to live on."

Her father winced at this cruel and convincing logic.