It was said that Burr was far behind in his payments, and that Lot would foreclose.

Burr had a better head than his father's, but he had terrible odds against him.

There was only one chance for his release from difficulty, people thought.

All the property, by a provision in the grandfather's will, was to fall to him if Lot died unmarried.

Lot was twenty years older than Burr, and he coughed.
"Burr Gordon ain't makin' out much now," people said; "the paint's all off his house and his land's run down, but there's dead men's shoes with gold buckles in the path ahead of him." Burr thought of it sometimes, although he turned his face from the thought, and Lot considered it when he took the mortgage note out of his desk and scored another installment of unpaid interest on it.