Ticket No. 9672 (15 page)

He was silent for a moment, then:

"Is this true?" he added.

He was obliged to wait some time for an answer to this question.

"Yes, it is true," replied Joel, at last. "And what of it, if you
please?"

"These offers are, in my opinion, the result of a most absurd and
senseless superstition," continued Sandgoist, "but for all that,
they will continue to be made, and to increase in amount, as the day
appointed for the drawing approaches. Now, I am a business man myself,
and I have taken it into my head that I should like to have a hand in
this little speculation myself, so I left Drammen yesterday to come to
Dal to arrange for the transfer of this ticket, and to beg Dame Hansen
to give me the preference over all other would-be purchasers."

Hulda was about to make Sandgoist the same answer she had given to
all offers of this kind, though his remarks had not been addressed
directly to her, when Joel checked her.

"Before replying, I should like to ask Monsieur Sandgoist if he knows
to whom this ticket belongs?" he said haughtily.

"To Hulda Hansen, I suppose."

"Very well; then it is to Hulda Hansen that this application should be
addressed."

"My son!" hastily interposed Dame Hansen.

"Let me finish, mother," continued Joel. "This ticket belonged
originally to our cousin, Ole Kamp, and had not Ole Kamp a perfect
right to bequeath it to his betrothed?"

"Unquestionably," replied Sandgoist.

"Then it is to Hulda Hanson that you must apply, if you wish to
purchase it."

"So be it, Master Formality," retorted Sandgoist. "I now ask Hulda to
sell me this ticket Number 9672 that Ole Kamp bequeathed to her."

"Monsieur Sandgoist," the young girl answered in firm but quiet tones,
"I have received a great many offers for this ticket, but they have
been made in vain. I shall say to you exactly what I have said to
others. If my betrothed sent me this ticket with his last farewell
upon it it was because he wished me to keep it, so I will not part
with it at any price."

Having said this Hulda turned, as if to leave the room, evidently
supposing that the conversation so far as she was concerned had
been terminated by her refusal, but at a gesture from her mother she
paused.

An exclamation of annoyance had escaped Dame Hansen, and Sandgoist's
knitted brows and flashing eyes showed that anger was beginning to
take possession of him.

"Yes, remain, Hulda," said he. "This is not your final answer. If I
insist it is because I certainly have a right to do so. Besides,
I think I must have stated the case badly, or rather you must have
misunderstood me. It is certain that the chances of this ticket have
not increased because the hand of a shipwrecked seaman placed it in a
bottle and it was subsequently recovered; still, the public seldom or
never reasons, and there is not the slightest doubt that many persons
desire to become the owners of it. They have already offered to
purchase it, and other offers are sure to follow. It is simply a
business transaction, I repeat, and I have come to propose a good
trade to you."

"You will have some difficulty in coming to an understanding with my
sister, sir," replied Joel, ironically. "When you talk business to her
she replies with sentiment."

"That is all idle talk, young man," replied Sandgoist. "When my
explanation is concluded you will see that however advantageous the
transaction may be to me it will be equally so to her. I may also
add that it will be equally so to her mother, Dame Hansen, who is
personally interested in the matter."

Joel and Hulda exchanged glances. Were they about to learn the secret
Dame Hansen had so long concealed from them?

"I do not ask that this ticket shall be sold to me for what Ole
Kamp paid for it," continued Sandgoist. No! Right or wrong, it has
certainly acquired an increased financial value, and I am willing to
make a sacrifice to become the owner of it."

"You have already been told that Hulda has refused much better offers
than yours," replied Joel.

"Indeed!" exclaimed Sandgoist. "Much better offers, you say. How do
you know?"

"Whatever your offer may be, my sister refuses it, and I approve of
her decision."

"Ah! am I dealing with Joel or Hulda Hansen, pray?"

"My sister and I are one," retorted Joel. "It would be well for you to
become satisfied of this fact, as you seem to be ignorant of it."

Sandgoist shrugged his shoulders, but without being at all
disconcerted, for like a man who is sure of his arguments, he replied:

"When I spoke of the price I was willing to pay for the ticket, I
ought to have told you that I could offer inducements which Hulda
Hansen can hardly reject if she takes any interest in the welfare of
her family."

"Indeed?"

"Yes, and it would be well for you, young man, to understand, in your
turn, that I did not come to Dal to beg your sister to sell me this
ticket. No, a thousand times no."

"For what, then?"

"I do not ask for it, I demand it. I will have it."

"And by what right?" exclaimed Joel, "and how dare you, a stranger,
speak in this way in my mother's house?"

"By the right every man has to speak as he pleases, and when he
pleases, in his own house," retorted Sandgoist.

"In his own house?"

Joel, in his indignation, stepped threateningly toward Sandgoist, who,
though not easily frightened, sprung hastily out of his arm-chair. But
Hulda laid a detaining hand upon her brother's arm, while Dame Hansen,
burying her face in her hands, retreated to the other end of the room.

"Brother, look at her!" whispered the young girl.

Joel paused suddenly. A glance at his mother paralyzed him. Her very
attitude revealed how entirely Dame Hansen was in this scoundrel's
power.

Sandgoist, seeing Joel's hesitation, recovered his self-possession,
and resumed his former seat.

"Yes, in his own house," he continued in a still more arrogant voice.
"Ever since her husband's death, Dame Hansen has been engaging in
unsuccessful speculations. After losing the small fortune your father
left at his death, she was obliged to borrow money of a Christiania
banker, offering this house as security for a loan of fifteen thousand
marks. About a year ago I purchased the mortgage, and this house will
consequently become my property—and very speedily—if I am not paid
when this mortgage becomes due."

"When is it due?" demanded Joel.

"On the 20th of July, or eighteen days from now," replied Sandgoist.
"Then, whether you like it or not, I shall be in my own house here."

"You will not be in your own house here until that date, even if you
are not paid at that time," retorted Joel, "and I forbid you to speak
as you have been doing in the presence of my mother and sister."

"He forbids me—me!" exclaimed Sandgoist. "But how about his
mother—what does she say?"

"Speak, mother!" cried Joel, approaching Dame Hansen, and endeavoring
to remove her hands from her face.

"Joel, my brother," exclaimed Hulda. "I entreat you, for my sake, to
be calm."

Dame Hansen bowed her head upon her breast, not daring to meet
her son's searching eyes. It was only too true that she had been
endeavoring to increase her fortune by rash speculations for several
years past. The small sum of money at her disposal had soon melted
away, and she had been obliged to borrow at a high rate of interest.
And now the mortgage had passed into the hands of this Sandgoist—a
heartless and unprincipled man—a well-known usurer, who was heartily
despised throughout the country. Dame Hansen, however, had seen him
for the first time when he came to Dal to satisfy himself in regard to
the value of the property.

This was the secret that had weighed so heavily upon her. This,
too, explained her reserve, for she had not dared to confide in her
children. This was the secret she had sedulously kept from those whose
future she had blighted.

Hulda scarcely dared to think of what she had just heard. Yes,
Sandgoist was indeed a master who had the power to enforce his will!
The ticket he wished to purchase would probably be worth nothing a
fortnight hence, and if she did not consent to relinquish it certain
ruin would follow—their house would be sold over their heads, and the
Hansen family would be homeless and penniless.

Hulda dared not even glance at Joel, but Joel was too angry to pay any
heed to these threats. He could think only of Sandgoist, and if the
man continued to talk in this way the impetuous youth felt that he
should not be able to control himself much longer.

Sandgoist, seeing that he had once more become master of the
situation, grew even more arrogant and imperious in his manner.

"I want that ticket, and I intend to have it," he repeated. "In
exchange for it I offer no fixed price, but I promise to extend the
mortgage for one—two, or three years—Fix the date yourself, Hulda."

Hulda's heart was so deeply oppressed with anguish that she was unable
to reply, but her brother answered for her.

"Ole Kamp's ticket can not be sold by Hulda Hansen. My sister refuses
your offer, in spite of your threats. Now leave the house!"

"Leave the house," repeated Sandgoist. "I shall do nothing of the
kind. If the offer I have made does not satisfy you I will go even
further. In exchange for the ticket I offer you—I offer you—"

Sandgoist must certainly have felt an irresistible desire to possess
this ticket—or at least he most have been convinced that the purchase
would prove a most advantageous one to him, for he seated himself at
a table upon which lay pen, ink, and paper, and a moment afterward he
added:

"Here is what I offer."

It was a receipt for the amount of Dame Hansen's indebtedness—a
receipt for the amount of the mortgage on the Dal property.

Dame Hansen cowered in her corner, with hands outstretched, and eyes
fixed imploringly on her daughter.

"And now give me the ticket," cried Sandgoist, "I want it to-day—this
very instant. I will not leave Dal without it"

As he spoke he stepped hastily toward the poor girl as if with the
intention of searching her pockets, and wresting the ticket from her.

This was more than Joel could endure, especially when he heard Hulda's
startled cry of "Brother! brother!"

"Get out of here!" he shouted, roughly. And seeing that Sandgoist
showed no intention of obeying, the young man was about to spring upon
him, when Hulda hastily interposed.

"Here is the ticket, mother," she cried.

Dame Hansen seized it, and as she exchanged it for Sandgoist's receipt
her daughter sunk, almost fainting, into an arm-chair.

"Hulda! Hulda! Oh, what have you done?" cried Joel.

"What has she done," replied Dame Hansen. "Yes, I am guilty—for
my children's sake I wished to increase the property left by their
father, but instead I have reduced them to poverty. But Hulda has
saved us all. That is what she has done. Thank you, Hulda, thank you."

Sandgoist still lingered. Joel perceived the fact.

"You are here still," he continued, roughly. And springing upon
Sandgoist he seized him by the shoulders and hustled him out-of-doors
in spite of his protests and resistance.

Sylvius Hogg reached Dal on the evening of the following day. He did
not say a word about his journey, and no one knew that he had been to
Bergen. As long as the search was productive of no results he wished
the Hansen family to remain in ignorance of it. Every letter or
telegram, whether from Bergen or Christiania, was to be addressed to
him, at the inn, where he intended to await further developments.
Did he still hope? Yes, though it must be admitted that he had some
misgivings.

As soon as he returned the professor became satisfied that some
important event had occurred in his absence. The altered manner of
Joel and Hulda showed conclusively that an explanation must have taken
place between their mother and themselves. Had some new misfortunes
befallen the Hansen household?

All this of course troubled Sylvius Hogg greatly. He felt such a
paternal affection for the brother and sister that he could not have
been more fond of them if they had been his own children. How much he
had missed them during his short absence.

"They will tell me all by and by," he said to himself. "They will have
to tell me all. Am I not a member of the family?"

Yes; Sylvius Hogg felt now that he had an undoubted right to be
consulted in regard to everything connected with the private life of
his young friends, and to know why Joel and Hulda seemed even more
unhappy than at the time of his departure. The mystery was soon
solved.

In fact both the young people were anxious to confide in the excellent
man whom they loved with a truly filial devotion, but they were
waiting for him to question them. During his absence they had felt
lonely and forsaken—the more so from the fact that Sylvius Hogg had
not seen fit to tell them where he was going. Never had the hours
seemed so long. It never once occurred to them that the journey was
in any way connected with a search for the "Viking," and that
Sylvius Hogg had concealed the fact from them in order to spare them
additional disappointment in case of failure.

And now how much more necessary his presence seemed to have become to
them! How glad they were to see him, to listen to his words of counsel
and hear his kind and encouraging voice. But would they ever dare to
tell him what had passed between them and the Drammen usurer, and
how Dame Hansen had marred the prospects of her children? What would
Sylvius Hogg say when he learned that the ticket was no longer in
Hulda's possession, and when he heard that Dame Hansen had used it to
free herself from her inexorable creditor?

He was sure to learn these facts, however. Whether it was Sylvius Hogg
or Hulda that first broached the subject, it would be hard to say, nor
does it matter much. This much is certain, however, the professor soon
became thoroughly acquainted with the situation of affairs. He was
told of the danger that had threatened Dame Hansen and her children,
and how the usurer would have driven them from their old home in
a fortnight if the debt had not been paid by the surrender of the
ticket.