You have chosen the poorer part , and you are a poor man in spite of your thousands . '' Ernest and his mother lived up on the hill , at the end of the straggling village street . The house was a small , old-fashioned one , painted white , set in the middle of a small but beautiful lawn . George Duncan , during the last rather helpless years of his life , had devoted himself to the cultivation of flowers , shrubs , and trees and , as a result , his lawn was the prettiest in Conway . Ernest worked hard in his spare moments to keep it looking as well as in his father 's lifetime , for he loved his little home dearly , and was proud of its beauty . He ran gaily into the sitting-room . `` Tea ready , lady mother ? I 'm hungry as a wolf . Good news gives one an appetite . Mr. White has raised my salary a couple of dollars per week . We must celebrate the event somehow this evening . What do you say to a sail on the river and an ice cream at Taylor 's afterwards ? When a little woman ca n't outlive her schoolgirl hankering for ice cream -- why , Mother , what 's the matter ? Mother , dear ! '' Mrs. Duncan had been standing before the window with her back to the room when Ernest entered . When she turned he saw that she had been crying . `` Oh , Ernest , '' she said brokenly , `` Jacob Patterson has just been here -- and he says -- he says -- '' `` What has that old miser been saying to trouble you ? '' demanded Ernest angrily , taking her hands in his . `` He says he holds your father 's promissory note for nine hundred dollars , overdue for several years , '' answered Mrs. Duncan . `` Yes -- and he showed me the note , Ernest . ''
`` Father 's promissory note XXXXX nine hundred ! ''
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