Saturday, about noon
It seemed as if the fates had conspired to ruin the old farmer and his family ; day after day , horses , cattle , and other live stock , sickened and died ; and , in a short time , he found himself without the means of prosecuting the labours of so precarious a season , with any prospect of success . To add to his distress , a summons was now served against him for fifty pounds , `` which , '' as that document affirmed , `` he still owed , and had refused to pay to the creditors of Mr. Rickledyke , for the building of his barn , & c. '' Mr. Rickledyke was the contractor who had been employed on this occasion ; the whole of the money had not been paid when he became bankrupt ; and , though the old farmer was perfectly certain that he had paid it , when he recollected that the bankrupt was a friend of Mr. Goosequill 's , and that the money had been paid in his office , he felt convinced that the whole was a trick , intended to embarrass if not to ruin him . He recollected farther , that , as a _ stamp _ could not , at the time , be obtained , for giving him a discharge , he had left the place without any voucher for the payment of the debt , beyond the testimony of two witnesses who were now dead ; and thus he had no alternative but to pay it again . The appearance of the law officers , at Sunnybraes , gave rise to a report , which was industriously spread , that William Chrighton was either a bankrupt or about to become one ; and every individual who had the slightest claim upon him , came hurrying in with distraints and summonses ; and , to complete the catastrophe , on Saturday , about noon , Mr. Goosequill made his appearance , with the proper assistants , and placed the whole of the crop , stocking , & c. , on the farm of Sunnybraes , under sequestration for the rent . All hope of continuing in the farm was now at an end , and it only remained to make the most of the wreck which was still left . On Sabbath morning , the sky had cleared ; the wind shifted about to the north , and , on the afternoon of the same day , a strong frost set in . The frost , accompanied by a sharp breeze , continued throughout the evening , and , as soon as midnight was past , the old man and his son prepared to embrace so favourable an opportunity for securing a portion of the victual which was still exposed .