“He leaves him five thousand dollars, and gives his mother the house they used to live in.”

“That’s splendid!  But what will Mrs. Preston say?”

“Well, that remains to be seen,” said the doctor, laughing.

CHAPTER XXXV MRS. PRESTON IS UNPLEASANTLY SURPRISED

Dr. Townley thought it best to consult with the town authorities as to the course to be pursued, since, as it appeared, the town was interested in the will.  It was decided that the doctor and Mr. Graves, who was the Chairman of the Selectmen, should go to Boston the next day and inform Mrs. Preston of the discovery of the will.  Until after this interview it was deemed best not to mention the matter to Andy or his mother.

Mrs. Preston was established in a showy house at the South End.  At last she was living as she desired to do.  She went to the theater and the opera, and was thinking whether she could afford to set up a carriage.  Godfrey she had placed at a private school, and was anxious to have him prepare for admission to Harvard College, but in this hope she seemed destined to be disappointed.  Godfrey wanted to see life and enjoy himself, and had no intention of submitting to the drudgery of hard study.

“Godfrey,” said his mother one morning, “I have received a letter from your teacher, complaining that you don’t work.”

“I’m not going to work myself to death,” answered Godfrey.

“I don’t expect you to hurt yourself with work, but I want you to go to college.”

“Oh, well, I’ll get in somehow.”

“Don’t you want to stand well as a scholar?” she asked.

“I leave that to the poor fellows that have got to work for a living.  I am rich.”

“You may lose your money.”

“I don’t mean to.”

“Suppose you do?”

“Then I will go to work.”

“I should like to have you graduate well at college and then study law.  You might get into Congress,” said his mother.

“I guess I’ll know enough for that,” said Godfrey, carelessly.  “I want to have a good time.”

That was not the worst of it, however.  He extorted from his mother a large allowance, which he spent at bars and billiard saloons, and one day was brought home drunk by a schoolfellow.

“Oh, Godfrey, how can you do so?” exclaimed the selfish woman, for once fairly alarmed on another’s account.

“Hush up, old woman!” hiccoughed Godfrey.

Mrs. Preston was mortified to think this should be said to her before Godfrey’s schoolmate.

“He does not know what he is saying,” she said, apologetically.

“Yes, I do,” persisted Godfrey.  “I’m a—­a gen’leman’s son.  I don’t want you to interfere with gen’leman’s son.”

He was put to bed, and awoke the next morning with a splitting headache.  It was the morning of the day which the doctor and Mr. Graves had chosen to call on Mrs. Preston.  She was preparing to go out, when a servant came upstairs to announce that two gentlemen were in the parlor, and wanted to see her.