The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-08-10
The geupsha SeIegraph'
KENosHA, WIS, AUGUST 10, 1871.
[8toru. conczuded from second pace

Story, concluded from second page
relatives stood; but she either could not
understand it, or would not believe it. IF
it came to the worst, she answered, they
would all agree to some arrangement for
the division. of the property, and her faith
er being the oldest, and heir-at- law, would
receive the largest share. She would be
an heiress, and why should ! fret myself
about paltry place in the postoffice.
could not, for the very life of me, look
her in the face and say: "Katie, is it pos
sible you were o7er-tempted and took the
villa" Yet I could not shake off the
growing conviction that this was the truth.
despair of conveying to you Ethe hun
dredth part of the maddening conflict of
my feelings during the next few weeks
NV love for Katie Lawrence, my disap-
pointment, my strong desire to believe
her innocent, my pity for her, my close
vigilance upon every word and glance
truth should become known to any one
else. There could be no suspicion of her
in any heart but mine, which loved her so
truly, and was willing to endure mistrust
cold looks and angry insinuations for her
sake, yet which was every day growing
colder toward her, and more full of severe
judgments upon her crime. Expectation
was dying away in the town, and hope
was almost dead within me.
It was not possible to keep the secret
any longer from my father, when he be-
came able to attend to business. A Lon
don surveyor accompanied by a detective
came down to investigate the matter thor.
oughly; but they could learn no more
than was already generally known. It
was severe trouble to my father, and Sc
rious consequences threatened him in spite
of his plea of sudden and dangerous i'll
ness. The fact that he was one of the ex-
ecutors told against him with the stran-
gers who were appointed to investigate
the affair; for they appeared to argue that
he might have taken possession of the
will, though it was illegal to do so after
it had once been posted, and for some
reason or other, suppressed it, throwing
the onus of the loss upon the postofice
When nothing could be discovered by
the surveyor or detective, old LaWrence's
relatiVea held family meeting to consult
upon what was to be DONE But it was
not very clear what the law would per-
NIT them to do in such circumstances !;
and there was not one of them who would
have agreed to proceed as if he had died
interstate. Every lawyer in Thornbury
had given some opinion, and received a
fee for it, upon the point; but nothing
was clear and certain
Those were the most miserable three
months that ever passed over nv head
The changed faces of my toWnsmen, the
suspicion attaching to me, and the near
prospect of ignom;niously losing my post,
were hard to bear. But the deepening
conviction of Katies guilt, and my gradu.
ally decreasing love for her, were incom-
parably harder. She did not fail to feel
the GOODNESS and distrust of manner and
being girl Of spirit she did not fail to
mark the change by corresponding
change in herself. pondered over such
questions as these: How was the will
made, and what had she done with it :?
Had she destroyed it, or was it stilIiin ex-
istence, to be discovered, perhaps, at some
future day, to work a just Judgment upon
her? However it might be, l knew that
my Katie was lost to me forever. Yet
not for worlds would throw upon her
the suspicion which weighed so heavily
upon me.
The last day of the year came. There
had been semi official letter in the morn
ing from Mr.. Talbot, intimatlng that the
people Thornbury were dissatisfied at
my retaining an important and confden-
tIal place III the postofice, and that their
complaints were about to, be noticed from
headquarters. My father only partially
1<rr
and sisters cried at intervals during the
day. found myself, as usual in the office
about the same hour in the evening as
when old LaWrence's will was brought in
and laid before me on the counter, lust
as [ had finished and folded up the quar-
terly money-order account. Another
quarter was ended, and said with some
bitterness of tone, THAT there could be
no objection to me making up the account
once again" The forms kept upon which
they were drawn out were kept in small
drawer N the counter, and found them
packed rather tightly, having evidently
been pushed in some haste and confusion
The drawer would only open with sharp
jerk, and as l gave it 1 heard sound Of
something falling behind, while the
drawer came out in my hand. l stooped
to look at what had fallen, and-you will
have guessed already-there lay old Law
rence's WILL. looking precisely as it had
done when it had lay on the counter be-
fore, directed to " R. Grey, iMitre Build
ings, The Temple London" N8
| gaVea great shout, which made my
father spring up from his desk, and fell
down on my knees before the empty space
where the drawer had been, scarcely able
to stretch out my hand to touch the will.
How it had got there was plain enough
to the I had left II luiror q nnnn the forms