Assoonastheformoftheinventorywasdrawnup，Massin，advisedbyGoupil(whoturnedtohimundertheinfluenceofhissecrethatredtothepostmaster)，summonedMonsieurandMadamedePortendueretopayoffthemortgagewhichhadnowelapsed，togetherwiththeinterestaccruingthereon。Theoldladywasbewilderedatasummonstopayonehundredandtwenty-ninethousandfivehundredandseventeenfrancswithintwenty-fourhoursunderpainofexecutiononherhouse。Itwasimpossibleforhertoborrowthemoney。SavinienwenttoFontainebleautoconsultalawyer。
“Youaredealingwithabadsetofpeoplewhowillnotcompromise，“
wasthelawyer’sopinion。“TheyintendtosueinthematterandgetyourfarmatBordieres。Thebestwayforyouwouldbetomakeavoluntarysaleofitandsoescapecosts。“
Thisdreadfulnewsbrokedowntheoldlady。HersonverygentlypointedouttoherthathadsheconsentedtohismarriageinMinoret’slife-time，thedoctorwouldhavelefthispropertytoUrsula’shusbandandtheywouldto-dayhavebeenopulentinsteadofbeing，astheynowwere，inthedepthsofpoverty。Thoughsaidwithoutreproach，thisargumentannihilatedthepoorwomanevenmorethanthethoughtofhercomingejectment。WhenUrsulaheardofthiscatastropheshewasstupefiedwithgrief，havingscarcelyrecoveredfromherfever，andtheblowwhichtheheirshadalreadydealther。Toloveandbeunabletosuccorthemansheloves，——thatisoneofthemostdreadfulofallsufferingstothesoulofanobleandsensitivewoman。
“Iwishedtobuymyuncle’shouse，“shesaid，“nowIwillbuyyourmother’s。“
“Canyou？“saidSavinien。“Youareaminor，andyoucannotselloutyourFundswithoutformalitiestowhichtheprocureurduroi，nowyourlegalguardian，wouldnotagree。Weshallnotresist。Thewholetownwillbegladtoseethediscomfitureofanoblefamily。Thesebourgeoisarelikehoundsafteraquarry。Fortunately，Istillhavetenthousandfrancsleft，onwhichIcansupportmymothertillthisdeplorablematterissettled。Besides，theinventoryofyourgodfather’spropertyisnotyetfinished；MonsieurBongrandstillthinksheshallfindsomethingforyou。HeisasmuchastonishedasI
amthatyouseemtobeleftwithoutfortune。Thedoctorsooftenspokebothtohimandtomeofthefuturehehadpreparedforyouthatneitherofuscanunderstandthisconclusion。“
“Pooh！“shesaid；“solongasIcanbuymygodfather’sbooksandfurnitureandpreventtheirbeingdispersed，Iamcontent。“
“Butwhoknowsthepricetheseinfamouscreatureswillsetonanythingyouwant？“
NothingwastalkedoffromMontargistoFontainebleaubutthemillionforwhichtheMinoretheirsweresearching。Butthemostminutesearchmadeineverycornerofthehouseafterthesealswereremoved，broughtnodiscovery。Theonehundredandtwenty-ninethousandfrancsofthePortendueredebt，thecapitalofthefifteenthousandayearinthethreepercents(thenquotedat76)，thehouse，valuedatfortythousandfrancs，anditshandsomefurniture，producedatotalofaboutsixhundredthousandfrancs，whichtomostpersonsseemedacomfortingsum。Butwhathadbecomeofthemoneythedoctormusthavesaved？
Minoretbegantohavegnawinganxieties。LaBougivalandSavinien，whopersistedinbelieving，asdidthejusticeofpeace，intheexistenceofawill，cameeverydayatthecloseofeachsessiontofindoutfromBongrandtheresultsoftheday’ssearch。Thelatterwouldsometimesexclaim，beforetheagentsandtheheirswerefairlyoutofhearing，“Ican’tunderstandthething！“Bongrand，Savinien，andtheabbeoftendeclaredtoeachotherthatthedoctor，whoreceivednointerestfromthePortenduereloan，couldnothavekepthishouseashedidonfifteenthousandfrancsayear。Thisopinion，openlyexpressed，madethepostmasterturnlividmorethanonce。
“YettheyandIhaverummagedeverywhere，“saidBongrand，——“theytofindmoney，andItofindawillinfavorofMonsieurdePortenduere。
Theyhavesiftedtheashes，liftedthemarbles，feltoftheslippers，boredintothewood-workofthebeds，emptiedthemattresses，rippedupthequilts，turnedhiseider-downinside-out，examinedeveryinchofpaperpiecebypiece，searchedthedrawers，dugupthecellarfloor——andIhaveurgedontheirdevastations。“
“Whatdoyouthinkaboutit？“saidtheabbe。
“Thewillhasbeensuppressedbyoneoftheheirs。“
“Butwhere’stheproperty？“
“Wemaywhistleforit！“
“Perhapsthewillishiddeninthelibrary，“saidSavinien。
“Yes，andforthatreasonIdon’tdissuadeUrsulafrombuyingit。Ifitwerenotforthat，itwouldbeabsurdtoletherputeverypennyofherreadymoneyintobooksshewillneveropen。“
Atfirstthewholetownbelievedthedoctor’sniecehadgotpossessionoftheunfoundcapital；butwhenitwasknownpositivelythatfourteenhundredfrancsayearandhergiftsconstitutedherwholefortunethesearchofthedoctor’shouseandfurnitureexcitedamorewide-spreadcuriositythanbefore。Somesaidthemoneywouldbefoundinbankbillshiddenawayinthefurniture，othersthattheoldmanhadslippedthemintohisbooks。Thesaleoftheeffectsexhibitedaspectacleofthemostextraordinaryprecautionsonthepartoftheheirs。Dionis，whowasdoingdutyasauctioneeer，declared，aseachlotwascriedout，thattheheirsonlysoldthearticle(whateveritwas)andnotwhatitmightcontain；then，beforeallowingittobetakenawayitwassubjectedtoafinalinvestigation，beingthumpedandsounded；andwhenatlastitleftthehousethesellersfollowedwiththelooksafathermightcastuponasonwhowasstartingforIndia。
“Ah，mademoiselle，“criedLaBougival，returningfromthefirstsessionindespair，“Ishallnotgoagain。MonsieurBongrandisright，youcouldneverbearthesight。Everythingisticketed。Allthetowniscomingandgoingjustasinthestreet；thehandsomefurnitureisbeingruined，theyevenstanduponit；thewholeplaceissuchamuddlethatahencouldn’tfindherchicks。You’dthinktherehadbeenafire。Lotsofthingsareinthecourtyard；theclosetsareallopen，andnothinginthem。Oh！thepoordearman，it’swellhedied，thesightwouldhavekilledhim。“
Bongrand，whoboughtforUrsulacertainarticleswhichherunclecherished，andwhichweresuitableforherlittlehouse，didnotappearatthesaleofthelibrary。Shrewderthantheheirs，whosecupiditymighthaverunupthepriceofthebookshadtheyknownhewasbuyingthemforUrsula，hecommissionedadealerinoldbookslivinginMeluntobuythemforhim。Asaresultoftheheir’sanxietythewholelibrarywassoldbookbybook。Threethousandvolumeswereexamined，onebyone，heldbythetwosidesofthebindingandshakensothatloosepaperswouldinfalliblyfallout。ThewholeamountofthepurchasesonUrsula’saccountamountedtosixthousandfivehundredfrancsorthereabouts。Thebook-caseswerenotallowedtoleavethepremisesuntilcarefullyexaminedbyacabinet-maker，broughtdownfromParistosearchforsecretdrawers。WhenatlastMonsieurBongrandgaveorderstotakethebooksandthebookcasestoMademoiselleMirouet’shousetheheirsweretorturedwithvaguefears，notdissipateduntilincourseoftimetheysawhowpoorlyshelived。
Minoretboughtuphisuncle’shouse，thevalueofwhichhisco-heirsranuptofiftythousandfrancs，imaginingthatthepostmasterexpectedtofindatreasureinthewalls；infactthehousewassoldwithareservationonthissubject。TwoweekslaterMinoretdisposedofhispostestablishment，withallthecoachesandhorses，tothesonofarichfarmer，andwenttoliveinhisuncle’shouse，wherehespentconsiderablesumsinrepairingandrefurnishingtherooms。BymakingthismovehethoughtlesslycondemnedhimselftolivewithinsightofUrsula。
“Ihope，“hesaidtoDionisthedaywhenMadamedePortenduerewassummonedtopayherdebt，“thatweshallsoonberidofthosenobles；
aftertheyaregonewe’lldriveouttherest。“
“Thatoldwomanwithfourteenquarterings，“saidGoupil，“won’twanttowitnessherowndisaster；she’llgoanddieinBrittany，whereshecanmanagetofindawifeforherson。“
“No，“saidthenotary，whohadthatmorningdrawnoutadeedofsaleatBongrand’srequest。“Ursulahasjustboughtthehousesheislivingin。“
“Thatcursedfooldoeseverythingshecantoannoyme！“criedthepostmasterimprudently。
“WhatdoesitsignifytoyouwhethershelivesinNemoursornot？“
askedGoupil，surprisedattheannoyancewhichthecolossusbetrayed。
“Don’tyouknow，“answeredMinoret，turningasredasapoppy，“thatmysonisfoolenoughtobeinlovewithher？I’dgivefivehundredfrancsifIcouldgetUrsulaoutofthistown。“
PerhapstheforegoingconductonthepartofthepostmasterwillhaveshownalreadythatUrsula，poorandresigned，wasdestinedtobeathorninthesideoftherichMinoret。Thebustleattendingthesettlementofanestate，thesaleoftheproperty，thegoingandcomingnecessitatedbysuchunusualbusiness，hisdiscussionswithhiswifeaboutthemosttriflingdetails，thepurchaseofthedoctor’shouse，whereZeliewishedtoliveinbourgeoisstyletoadvanceherson’sinterests，——allthishurly-burly，contrastingwithhisusuallytranquillifehinderedthehugeMinoretfromthinkingofhisvictim。
ButaboutthemiddleofMay，afewdaysafterhisinstallationinthedoctor’shouse，ashewascominghomefromawalk，heheardthesoundofapiano，sawLaBougivalsittingatawindow，likeadragonguardingatreasure，andsuddenlybecameawareofanimportunatevoicewithinhim。
ToexplainwhytoamanofMinoret’snaturethesightofUrsula，whohadnosuspicionofthetheftcommitteduponher，nowbecameintolerable；whythespectacleofsomuchfortitudeundermisfortuneimpelledhimtoadesiretodrivethegirloutoftown；andhowandwhyitwasthatthisdesiretooktheformofhatredandrevenge，wouldrequireawholetreatiseonmoralphilosophy。Perhapshefelthewasnottherealpossessorofthirty-sixthousandfrancsayearsolongasshetowhomtheyreallybelongedlivednearhim。Perhapshefanciedsomemerechancemightbetrayhistheftifthepersondespoiledwasnotgotridof。Perhapstoanatureinsomesortprimitive，almostuncivilized，andwhoseowneruptothattimehadneverdoneanythingillegal，thepresenceofUrsulaawakenedremorse。Possiblythisremorsegoadedhimthemorebecausehehadreceivedhisshareofthepropertylegitimatelyacquired。InhisownmindhenodoubtattributedthesestirringsofhisconsciencetothefactofUrsula’spresence，imaginingthatifshewereremovedallhisuncomfortablefeelingswoulddisappearwithher。Butstill，afterall，perhapscrimehasitsowndoctrineofperfection。Abeginningofevildemandsitsend；afirststabmustbefollowedbytheblowthatkills。Perhapsrobberyisdoomedtoleadtomurder。Minorethadcommittedthecrimewithouttheslightestreflection，sorapidlyhadtheeventstakenplace；
