Perrin had replied at first in a few civil lines; but his present letter
was a long and friendly one. It made both the daughters of Beaurepaire
shudder at the peril they had so narrowly escaped. For by it they now
learned for the first time that one Jaques Bonard, a small farmer,
to whom they owed but five thousand francs, had gone to the mayor and
insisted, as he had a perfect right, on the estate being put up to
public auction. This had come to Perrin's ears just in time, and he had
instantly bought Bonard's debt, and stopped the auction; not, however,
before the very bills were printed; for which he, Perrin, had paid, and
now forwarded the receipt. He concluded by saying that the government
agent was personally inert, and would never move a step in the matter
unless driven by a creditor.
"But we have so many," said Rose in dismay. "We are not safe a day."
Aubertin assured her the danger was only in appearance. "Your large
creditors are men of property, and such men let their funds lie unless
compelled to move them. The small mortgagee, the petty miser, who has,
perhaps, no investment to watch but one small loan, about which he is
as anxious and as noisy as a hen with one chicken, he is the clamorous
creditor, the harsh little egoist, who for fear of risking a crown piece
would bring the Garden of Eden to the hammer.
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