, after he
had commenced upon the extensive improvements of the hotel, the son
feared that the father might be tempted to do what was not exactly
right.

While all these questions remained unsettled in the mind of Leopold, he
did nothing to recover the money, until the hotel was nearly completed.
In fact, he had no time to do so, for his father kept him busy from
morning till night, and then he was so tired that he did not even feel
like reading the diary. After he had obtained the important facts in
regard to the buried money, he did not feel any further interest in the
journal of Harvey Barth. He had tried to read portions of it; but each
day commenced with a detailed account of the writer's health, with
remarks on the weather, and similar topics, which did not hold the
attention of the young man. The enlargement of the hotel was a subject
which engrossed his whole mind, after the novelty of finding the diary
had worked itself off. He was deeply interested in the progress of the
work; and when the putting up of the partitions gave form and shape to
the interior, not many other matters occupied his mind.

The mechanics finished their labors, and the hotel was ready to receive
the new furniture which had been purchased for it. Leopold was busier
than ever, and hardly a thought of the hidden treasure came to his mind.
He put down carpets and put up bedsteads, till he was nearly worn out
with hard work, though the excitement of seeing the various apartments
of the new house assume their final aspect prevented him from feeling
the fatigue of his labor. By the middle of June everything was ready
for the reception of guests, though not many of them were expected to
arrive till the middle of July. Now the hotel was called the "Sea Cliff
House," and its opening was advertised in the principal cities of New
York and New England. As the Island Hotel lost its "trade" and the new
house obtained it all, Ethan Wormbury was correspondingly angry.

As usually happens to those who rebuild and remodel private or public
houses, the expense far exceeded the estimates. The war of the rebellion
was in progress, and the prices of everything in the shape of building
material and furniture had fearfully increased. The nine thousand
dollars which Mr. Bennington had on hand to pay his bills, was exhausted
long before the work was completed. The landlord was sorely troubled,
and he went to Squire Wormbury to obtain a further loan on his propert