house. On that morning he had acquainted his wife with his loss, but
had strictly enjoined secrecy upon her, as both Gowanlock and Van Duzer
had promised him most solemnly that inasmuch as they regarded their
indebtedness to him as being upon a different footing from their
ordinary liabilities, he should assuredly be paid in full out of the
first money at their command. He had implicit reliance upon their word,
and requested me to take charge of the money upon its arrival, and to
keep it until he instructed me, by post or otherwise, how to dispose of
it. To this I, of course, consented. The rest of the story he could
only repeat upon the authority of his wife, but I have no reason for
disbelieving any portion of it. It seems that a day or two after his
illness commenced, and after he had become insensible, his wife had
been at her wits' end for money to provide necessaries for the house,
and I dare say she spent more for liquor than for necessaries. She
declared that she had made up her mind to apply to me for a loan, when
a stranger called at the house, attracted, as he said, by the little
image, which had been placed in the front window, and was thus visible
to passers by. He announced himself as Mr. Silas Pomeroy, merchant, of
Myrtle Street, Springfield. He said that the face of the little image
strikingly reminded him of the face of a child of his own which had
died some time before. He had not supposed that the figure was a
likeness of any one, and had stepped in, upon the impulse of the
moment, in the hope that he might be able to purchase it. He was
willing to pay a liberal price. The negotiation ended in his taking the
image away with him, and leaving a hundred dollars in its stead; on
which sum Mrs. Fink had kept house ever since. Her husband, of course,
knew nothing of this for weeks afterwards. When he began to get better,
his wife had acquainted him with the facts. He had found no fault with
her, as he had determined to repurchase the image at any cost, so soon
as he might be able to earn money enough. As for getting a duplicate,