And he went his way . So the wanderer turned his steps to the loft , which was at the top of the storehouse , and there he found the wooden chest , so old that it looked as if it were dropping to pieces . ` What use is this old thing to me ? ' he said to himself . ` Oh , well , it will serve to light a fire at which I can warm myself ; so things might be worse after all . ' Placing the chest on his back , the man , whose name was Jose , set out for his inn , and , borrowing a hatchet , began to chop up the box . In doing so he discovered a secret drawer , and in it lay a paper . He opened the paper , not knowing what it might contain , and was astonished to find that it was the acknowledgment of a large debt that was owing to his father . Putting the precious writing in his pocket , he hastily inquired of the landlord where he could find the man whose name was written inside , and he ran out at once in search of him . The debtor proved to be an old miser , who lived at the other end of the village . He had hoped for many months that the paper he had written had been lost or destroyed , and , indeed , when he saw it , was very unwilling to pay what he owed . However , the stranger threatened to drag him before the king , and when the miser saw that there was no help for it he counted out the coins one by one . The stranger picked them up and put them in his pocket , and went back to his inn feeling that he was now a rich man . A few weeks after this he was walking through the streets of the nearest town , when he met a poor woman crying bitterly . He stopped and asked her what was the matter , and she answered between her sobs that her husband was dying , and , to make matters worse , a creditor whom he could not pay was anxious to have him taken to prison . ` Comfort yourself , ' said the stranger kindly ; ` they shall neither send your husband to prison nor sell your goods . I will not only pay his debts but , if he dies , the cost of his burial also . And now go home , and nurse him as well as you can . ' And so she did ; but , in spite of her care , the husband died , and was buried by the stranger . But everything cost more than he expected , and when all was paid he found that only three gold pieces were left .
` What am I XXXXX do now ? '
as at before by for if in of through to