The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1875-11-27

SOuIlC IdNS. nc went tiI VIII iliN ct'l '
"The c4-e was one Of cicctmcnt .Nn
elderly man, named Philip Acton, had
| died, leaving a valuable estate. There
was nearly thousand acres of land,
with opportunities for developing inn
mcnse water power, aud ere many
years that land would be worth more
than a million dollars. AT present up
on the estate, and claiming II as SON Of
the deceased, was man calling ann
self William Acton.
"'Dut,' said Saifurt. 'hc is not a lc-
citinia,c child al all His mother was
Betsy To;wood, at one time a girl in
Acton, employ. Acton, know, was
never married. He brought the boy
UP, and educated him. and now the icl-
| low thinks to step into his protectors
shoes. can prove that am the only
living relative of Philip Acton. lie
was my mclc-mv mothers hrothct-
and, to lawyer As smart as yourself,
there can be no difficulty in proving
my title. ! can bring the witnesses to
your hand
"llc told me he would give me five
hundred dollar, if | would undertake.
| his case, and IN additional thousand II
gained ii. That was a BIZ fce--iar
more than had thea made in all my
pleading. 1t was tempting. And yet
! saw that the case was not perfectly
clear-uot entirely honest. The prob
ability was, that this William Acton
was Philips child; and it was not i'm
possible that Philip had married Betsey
| Trotwood. 1t struck me tina; Labsn
.>uiiart was i villain, and that he haI
iancicd he had young Acton 50 far i'll
his power that he could eject Inn from
the title. But what had particularly
to do with that? If accepted a client
| Imust serve him. | had no business
i;u, to serve his interest. finally told
MIR. Sar.u,t that | would thiuA the
matter over. | should probably hav,
business in .Shruton duriug the session
Of the court, and would call upon him
there, and examine more fGiiy. !
| could moi take his retainer until ] had
further light.
"'Bul,' ..id he, will YOU promise not
20 take UP for the o.hei side:
| &c, told him l would do nothing
without ur,hcr consultation with him,
"'Bccausc,' he added, If you are fo;
me am sure TO win. Acton can't find
= LAWYER that can hold candle t. v0u.
| kuow .cm ALL
"No matter whether believed him
or not,-l did mt ieel f'sttered.
| "rwo weeks later received a letter
from >S!,arfurt, promising me FIVE thou
sand dollars II Won.
"Ihc five Thousand dollars was 4
strong argument. Was not law really
game of chance, in which the strong
est hand aud the longest purse must
wins told myself, Ies,-and ! sat
down and wrote reply. saying that |
would take the case. But | did not
mail it at once. That night put the
letter under my pillow, and slept o,cr
it; and on the following morning
threw it into the fire. | would not
make up my mind until had seen Other
partics-until | had been on the ground,
And wrote to Laban Surfau TO wait
1.-TWO weeks after | harncsscd m,
horse to the wagon, and, with my wife
and child, started for Shircton. | had
been married two years, and our little
one, girl, was year old, our pride,
our pet, and our darling. Shircton was
distant thirty miles. We had been
having rainy weather for week, or
so, but it had now cleared off bright
and beautiful. We stopped and took
dinner at a small wavsi1c inn, four miles
beyond which was stream which must
hc fordcd. The inn-kccncr told me
that the stream was somewhat swoulcn
from the late rains, but that if my horse
was trusty there could be no danger.
"Arrivod ~ the stream-thc Wannp-
atuck river-I found the water indeed
risen, and the current strong; but saw
that others had recently gone over, and
| resolved to venture. | knew nv
horse, and had faith in him. My wife
was anxious, but She trusted my iudg-
ncnt. a third Of the way across the
water wa. over the hubs ot the wheels.
\ little more, and it would reach the
body Of the wagon. began to be
alarmed. feared | hal left the true
track. Presently my horse stumbled
and staggered, having evidently stepped
Oh moving stone. The wagon sway
cd and tipped, and the flood poured in
upon US. My wife slipped, and IN my
effort to save her, drew the head Of the
horse down stream, and in moment
more we were in the water. With one
hand graspcd the harness upon the
horse, and with the other | held my
wife. was thus struggling when
wild cry from her lips startled the air.
Our child was washed away:
"Oh! nv soul l cannot tell you
what uttered during those moments.
I could not help our darling. III left
nv wife She was lost. | chung 20 the
horse, and clung to my shricking wife
-shreking to god for mercy for her
child. The horse was struggling for
the shore. In the distance, upon the
bosom ofthc surging flood, | could see
our little one, Acr white dress CLEAN
iny in the sun, being borne swiftly
f.l Il a