The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-07-02
From RoutIedge's Christmas Annual
LOST IN THE POST OFFICE.


best pickings out of it. Come, Harry,
we are old friends; knew you when
a baby, and your father and mother
years before, You might tell me any
thing my boy"
THANK you" / cried, grasping his
hand, hut have nothing more to
tell. / swear / know no more about
the will than you do.
Gould anybody else know Of its be-
ing In your Office besides you and the
clerks?" asked Mr.. Talbot.
Strange to say-so strange that
marveled at it myself-until that mo-
ment had altogether forgotten, or il
had been kept back from recurring to
nv memory, that Katie had been
with me when ny mothers agOnized
voice called to me. Like some vivid
revelation made by a fash of light
ming, lurid and binding, came back
the position in which we stood, and
the last words | had uttered. The
events which followed had been so
hurried and engrossing, the sleep sue
oseding TO them so exhausting, that
the impression must have been for
the time almost obliterated. 1t re-
turned all the keener now; and my
pulse stood still, and my heart sank
heavily. Katie had been there; Katie
had seen her uncle's will; l had left
her behind me in the Office alone.
/ answered ineoherently, contradic-
ting myself and last, for almost the
only time in my life, fairly burst into
tears. Never did poor, weak wretch
appear more guilty than did. My
friend-for he was truly my friend
urged me, In vain, to confess all, and
make him the confident of my temp
tations and my fault; he gave it no
h2rsher a name, 1t was imp ossible
for me to cast a suspicion upon Katie,
though as 1 came to think quietly
over it IN my bedroom-I raved all
night at Mr.. TalDot's-I could not
Danish from me the dread misgiving
that here lay the solution of the mys
terry. ] said TO myself that at first 1t
would be nothing but girls thought
less curiosity, which had changed in
TO shame and terror upon facing the
consequences of her action; and that
every day had made it moro impossi-
Bile for her to own her fualt. Then
re.r sned powerfully to me the fasci-
nation the mere sight OF the will had
exercised over me, and the conjec-
lures which had rushed to my brain
rs l sat staring at it. A tenth part
Of such temptation, l was inclined
TO argue, would be too strong for the
curiosity of woman the most deeply
interested In its contents. Yet Kate
was so good, so supplemented, so
religious; should ! be forced to lose
my faith in her? No; / could not be-
heve her capable of dishonorable
aud criminal action. Yet where, then,
was the wlllP
It will be readily credited that |
did not sleep that night, and that L
was haggard and miserable looking IN
the morning. The surveyor made
last effort tO gain my confidence, and
my agitated reserve produced upon
him the impression that / was guilty.
The last sentence he uttered, with un-
usual sternness, was to the effect that,
unless the will was speedily found,
there was no hope of my retaining my
Office, even if my father kept his, be-
ing shielded by his dangerous illness
at the time.
I rode homeward, wretched enough,
and found Shape awaiting my return.
Mr.. Grey had gone back to London,
after staying no more than a few days
in Thornbury.
Nothing discovered yet?" said
Shape
Nothing" answered, respondent
ly. "If there was, you'd have no need
to come to me. / should be only too
glad to let you know"
1T beats everything in my prefes
sional experience" he continued.
That's no satisfaction to me" |
Anek~T 1a
what is to be done If the will does not
turn up at all2"
The very question all the relatives
are asking" replied Shape Mr..
Lawrence drew the will himself, gave
me go hint Gifts contens, and has left
no copy. We are every one of US
utterly in the dark as to his inten-
tions. We cannot proceed as if he
had died intestate all the world knows
he did not; and no one has a legal
right to touch a penny of his proper
ty."
"Will it be thrown into chancery,
Iasked,
There will be nothing else for it,
If the will is not found" he said !;
land to let you into a secret which
concerns you, some of the relatives
are talking of prosecution against
you. But I asked them; What proof
have you that Mr.. Henry Slauey has
distracted this document? The alb
stracti0n OF any letter or packet from
the post Office is felony, such letter
or packet from the post Office is fell
onv, such letter or packet being the
property of the Postmaster General
during its transit, and the penalty is
penal servitude or transportation.
But how can the felony be proved?
There may be good grounds for sus-
pieion, strong presumptive evidence
his own admission of having re-
ceived the document, and sufficient
motive; but there is 20 positive proof,
and could be no positive proof, unless
it was found IN his possession, or In
the possession of some individual who
could only have received it from him. !"
1T is a pleasant position to be in, J"
said /, biting at my nails viciously,
which is no habit of mine, but which
seemed to come naturally to me in
these circumstances.
"If the will could only be found, :"
answered Mr.. Shape, with a provok
ing significance of tone, "all might be
smoothed over, even now.
IF it could only be found ]" l said,
over and over again, to myself. AS
soon as the solicitor was gone, l went
up stairs to my mothers usual sitting
room. My father had that morning
been pronounced we'll enough to leave
his room for few hours, and he was
sitting IN an easy chair near the fire,
with faint smile upon his sunken
face, which grew stronger when he
-noo II rpoa q Iittlo briOhf npos