"For the land's sake----" began the widow; but Spink burst forth in a rage:
"I'll make ye a last offer for it--you can take it or leave it." He drew forth a wad of bills and peeled off several into the widow's hand.
"There's fifty dollars. Is the desk mine?" he fairly yelled.
The vociferous speech of the professor drew people from the auction. They gathered around. Harris nodded to the old lady, and her hand clamped upon the bills.
"Remember, this is Mrs. Harrison's own money," said young Colesworth, evenly. "The desk was bought at auction for two dollars."
"It is yours, Jud Spink," replied the old lady, stuffing the money into her handbag.
"Gimme that hatchet!" cried the professor, seizing the implement from a man who stood by. He attacked the old desk in a fury.
"Oh! that's too bad!" gasped Mrs. Harrison. "I _did_ want the old thing."
Spink grinned at them. "I'll make you both sicker than you be!" he snarled. "Out o' the way!"
He banged the desk two or three more clips--and out fell a secret panel in the back of it.
"By cracky! money--real money!" yelled Lucas Pritchett. "Oh, Mr. Harris! we done it now!"
For from the shallow opening behind the panel there were scattered upon the ground several packets of apparently brand-new, if somewhat discolored banknotes.
Professor Spink dropped the axe and picked up the packages eagerly. Others crowded around. They ran them over quickly.
"Five thousand dollars--if there's a cent!" gasped somebody, in an awed whisper.
"An' she sold it for fifty dollars," said Lucas, almost in tears.
But Professor Lemuel Judson Spink did not look happy--not at all!
While the neighbors were crowding around, emitting "ohs" and "ahs" over his find in the broken old desk, the proprietor of "the breakfast for the million" began to look pretty sick.
"Five thousand dollars! My mercy!" gasped the Widow Harrison. "Then Bob _didn't_ lie about bringing home that fortune when he came from the army."
"It's a shame, Widder!" cried one man. "That five thousand ought to belong to you."
"Dad got it right; didn't he?" said Lucas, shaking his head sadly. "He allus said Harrison was trying to tell him where it was hid when he had his last stroke."
Harris Colesworth spoke for the first time since the packages of notes were discovered: