It's Bill that's spent the money on his cussed booze and gambling. Way of the Lawless Max Brand The gambling houses can do it, and so keep on breaking the law.
When Winnie tries to drink, Jesse stops her. Then Mae and Miles appear. Alarmed at Winnie's discovery of the spring, they kidnap her. Winnie learns that the music she heard comes from Mae's music box. She also learns the Tucks' secret: the water in the spring is magic and has made them ageless.
Mae and Tuck felt that the gift of unchanging immortality destroyed what made them alive. They longed for the changes they would have gone through had they never received their immortality. Miles feels that the immortality has caused him to be able to miss out on things he would have experienced otherwise.