I have reasons--and good ones. Just wait, and be patient."

But is it going to be as much as people say it is?"

What do they say it is?"

Oh, ever so much. Millions!"

Yes, it will be a great sum."

But how great, Laura? Will it be millions?"

Yes, you may call it that. Yes, it will be millions. There, now--does

that satisfy you?"

Splendid! I can wait. I can wait patiently--ever so patiently. Once I

was near selling the land for twenty thousand dollars; once for thirty

thousand dollars; once after that for seven thousand dollars; and once

for forty thousand dollars--but something always told me not to do it.

What a fool I would have been to sell it for such a beggarly trifle! It

is the land that's to bring the money, isn't it Laura? You can tell me

that much, can't you?"

"Yes, I don't mind saying that much. It is the land.

366

The Gilded Age