Part 13 (1/2)
”You do not know, you cannot tell,” he said, ”what this letter means to us.”
”What does it mean?”
”It means--I do not know that I can say the word, but I will try--cor-rob-oration.”
”Explain a little further, will you?”
”In the past all was for the English. Now records are being discovered, old doc.u.ments are coming to light. The guilty colonial authorities suppressed them. Now these records declare for the Acadiens.”
”So--this letter, being from one on the opposite side, is valuable.”
”It is like a diamond unearthed,” said Agapit, turning it over; ”but,”--in sudden curiosity,--”this is a copy mutilated, for the name of the captain is not here. From whom did you have it, if I am permitted to ask?”
”From the great-grandson of the old fellow mentioned.”
”And he does not wish his name known?”
”Well, naturally one does not care to shout the sins of one's ancestors.”
”The n.o.ble young man, the dear young man,” said Agapit, warmly. ”He will atone for the sins of his fathers.”
”Not particularly n.o.ble, only business-like.”
”And has he much money, that he wishes to aid this family of Acadiens?”
”No, not much. His father's family never succeeded in making money and keeping it. His mother is rich.”
”I should like to see him,” exclaimed Agapit, and his black eyes flashed over Vesper's composed features. ”I should love him for his sensitive heart.”
”There is nothing very interesting about him,” said Vesper. ”A sick, used-up creature.”
”Ah,--he is delicate.”
”Yes, and without courage. He is a college man and would have chosen a profession if his health had not broken down.”
”I pity him from my heart; I send good wishes to his sick-bed,” said Agapit, in a pa.s.sion of enthusiasm. ”I will pray to our Lord to raise him.”
”Can you give him any a.s.sistance?” asked Vesper, nodding towards the letter.
”I do not know; I cannot tell. There are many LeNoirs. But I will go over my papers; I will sit up at night, as I now do some writing for the post-office. You know I am poor, and obliged to work. I must pay Rose for my board. I will not depend on a woman.”
Vesper half lifted his drooping eyelids. ”What are you going to make of yourself?”
”I wish to study law. I save money for a period in a university.”
”How old are you?”
”Twenty-three.”
”Your cousin looks about that age.”
”She is twenty-four,--a year older; and you,--may I ask your age?”