The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-09-27

outset, as to the broad principles appll-
cable"
"Quite so, sir; very true. But am
afraid there is little misunderstand-
ing" ,
~ think not. l have followed you
with great attention. A married BIS
daughter @ on the faith of an under
taking by B that he will, on his death,
leave G the whole of his property; B
CHATS Glubb, you know dies, and he
does not leave the property to y (that 8
Mrs. Podgers), but to somebody else.
Isn't that your casea" And I leaned back
in my chairand eyed him witha deny~that-
if-you- can sort of expression.
"Just exactly 80, sir. If you'd been
one of the family yourself you couldn't
have got it more pat. They all went on
as comfortable as possible till one sun
day the old gentleman dined with the
Podgerses, and he found caterpillar in
the Vegetables. he would have it they
did it on purpose. 10 went home at
once, tore up his will and made anoth-
er, leaving every penny Of his money to
the asylum for incurable clearstarchers.
The excitement brought on an apoplec-
tic fit, and he died the very same night.
Personally sworn under 925, 900; and
Podgers all but in the Gazette"
begun to fear that the case would
prove to be q Chancery matter, and that
my share in it would be limited to CIV
ing Mr.. Ward an elaborate opinion to
that effect. But it clearly would not do
to make any suggestion Of the kind at
the present stage Of the proceedings.
"Ah, just as I thought, you see." i
tried to look as if had anticipated
every detail of the case, even to the cat
erpilIar. "Well, now the question is,
what evidence have we, first OF a dis
tinct agreement on the part of B (other-
wise Glubb) to leave all his property to
his daughter, and, secondly, that A
otherwise Podgers) married on the
faith of that promise. You hear what
Chitty says: "A valuable consideration
is such as money, marriage, or the like,
which the law esteems an equivalent
given for the grant, and is therefore
founded on motives Of Justice. That's
the law; but how about the facts. Mere
assertion won't do, you know; We must
have evidence.
"Wen. as to the evidence I'm afraid
there isn't much in q legal sense. Mr..
Cocksure has advised upon the case, and
he says that we haven't any evidence;
in fact, tLat we haven't leg to stand
upon"
It was hattering and at the same time
q little alarming to be consulted in a
case in which Mr.. Cocksure had already
expressed an adverse opinion. II Mr..
Cocksure was timid T had better be at
least cautious.
"You will have uphill work before
you, I'm afraid, and I should recommend
you, Mr.. Ward, as a man Of business
(that is, of course, between ourselves)
to see your way very clear as to your
costs out Of pocket. The incurable
clearstarchers will fight hard, sir, you
may depend on it,
"Oh, dear, yes, sir; no doubt they
would. But we've quite made up our
minds not to 90 to law about the mat.
ter. It would only be throwing good
money after bad; leastways it would if
we had any to throw; but we haven't.
Podgers ran away to America last Mon
day, and his poor wife and five young
children are this moment living in two
pair back in Camden Town, sustaining
q miserable existence on the scanty re-
mains of the stock in trade"
A horrible misgiving crossed my mind,
and I shut up Chitty.
Il thought mean to say Isupposed
Il really don't quite see, then, in what
way can be of service in the case, MIR.
Ward"
"Woll, you see, Mr.. Wiggins told me
as you was al uncommon kind hearted
gentleman, so I made bold to call and
ask if you wouldn'tput down your name
for trihe for the widow and orphans
not that Mrs. +. is precisely widow,
nor yet the children exactly orphans,
but rather worse if anything, in my
opinion, and another expected almost
Immediately, sir.
I was fairly caught. Not for worlds
would I have let Mr.. Ward know that 1
had been laboring under misappre-
hension, and had been mentally well
coming him as my first client. On the
other hand, after the extreme interest l
had exhibited in the case, could not
10 less than give him handsome dona-
ton. Smiling amiably, but inwardly
breathing the most awful imprecations
against Virgins (and very nearly VOW
ing, on the spur of the moment, never
to have my hair cut again as long as I
Gved), expressed my extreme gratitca.
tion at having the opportunity of con-
tributing sovereign to the necessities
of the Podgers family. Mr.. Ward
beamed with delight, and pressed on my
acceptance his card, assuring me that,
if I should at any time require anything
in is line, it would be his most earnest
endeavor- these words, by the way, he
apparently spelt with an ito give me
satisfaction. He insisted on shaking
hands at parting, and appeared to find
considerable difficulty in tearing him
self away. At last, however, he de-
parted, leaving me still holding his card.
My one absorbing thought as soon as
could think at all was how on earth to
conceal the facts from Armitage-what
possible fiction to invent which should
save my dignity from the exposure Of
the horrible truth. What dreadful false
hood I might ultimately have given
birth to cannot say, for I was saved
from the ordeal by hearing q burst, or
rather succession OF bursts, of frantic
laughter from the room to which Armi-
tage had retired. I pushed the door,
which yielded to my touch. My worst
fears were realized he knew all. BE
was lying upon the bed, his feet con-
siderably above his head, examining a
pocket handkerchief in his mouth, and
every now and then breaking out afresh
into peal of maniac laughter.
"Well, Brownie, old boy, I hope
you've given the new client O good
sound legal opinion. Oh, dear, my poor
sides When shall we have the dinner,
eh, old mans''
"Come, Frank I said, addressing
him more in sorrow than in anger,
"don't add insult to injury. You've
had the door aiar, you scoundrel so I
needn't tell you any particulars. But at
any rate promise to keep my secret"
"That III be hanged if I do, old boy;
the joke is great deal too good to keep
to myself How about Chitty on Con
tracts and e Meeson and Welsby p
Oh, you old impostor I'll be hanged
if l don't tell the story to every fellow I
meet"
So, for fear that the facts should be