A loan never remains at the same sum; it increases if it is not reduced.

In itself the five hundred was not at all a heavy amount for the farm to carry, but it was the nucleus around which additional burdens piled themselves up.

By a species of gravitation such a burden attracts others, till the last straw breaks the camel's back.

This, however, was not all.
The heir discovered another secret which likewise contributed to sober him.

It appeared that the farm, or rather the stock and so on, was really not all his father's.