Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1876-11-24
"But who is this uncle of yours ?

never heard you mention him before"
81 had almost forgotten his existence
the fact is, my father and he were not on
good terms together, and his name was
scarcely ever mentioned"
Are you left nothing in this will ?"
"Nothing."
els it net very strange, Miss Milford,
that your father should have left your
uncle all his property 20
''It is, indeed. very strange" replied the
young lady. ''They have never spoken to
each other for. years. My father could
never bear to hear the name of his brother
Oliver mentioned, and whenever he did
speak Of him, which I have said before was
but seldom, he always spoke of him as a
BadAhearted mau.'
"And yet you say the signature to the
will was in your fathers handwriting ?"
eyes, sir; am perfectly satisfied of it +;
so much SO, that when some of my friends
advised me to contest the validity of the
will, being firmly convinced that my father
really did sign it, refused most positive
ly. I care nothing about my fathers
wealth, and it IS not to regain this that /
ask your assistance, sir; my simple wish
is to obtain Mr.. Henry Warnings release"
HAS the will been proven ?'' 1 asked.
ooh, yes" she replied, ''my uncle has
taken full possession.''
sAnd what have you been doing since ?"
asked, moro out Of curiosity than any
thing else.
II have obtained some music pupils, and
[ am doing very we'll, as [ said before sir ;
[ have no concern about myself
"Have you any letter or document with
your fathers sigma ture attached to it ?'
II have number at home," she replied.
''By- the-by, [ think have a letter of his
with me now, written to me some six years
ago, while he was in Albany"
So saying, she took from her reticule the
letter in question, and handed it to me.
"Will you allow me to retain possession
of this ?'' I asked.
"Certainly," she replied ''but can as
sure you that if you suppose the will to be
forgery, you are mistaken. The will is
undoubtedly genuine"
''Well, my dear young lady," 1 returned,
81 do not doubt your word, but you may
be mistaken. At all events, should like
to judge for myself"
I then babe her good morning, and ex-
pressed wish to see her again that day
week. When she had gone, Immediately
put on my hat and coat, and directed my
steps to the recorders Office for the pur-
pose of examining the will. Aided by the
index, I found 1t readily and commenced
to read every word of it.
At last came to the signature. [ took
from my pocket the letter Miss Milford
had given me for the purpose Of comparing
the signatures. There could be no doubt
whatever but the signature was genuine !;
the letters we're found exactly the same,
and were evidently written by the same
hand. Still there was a marked difference
letter was bold and firm, while that attach
ed to the will was weak and tremulous.
The will was witnessed by John Dorsey.
The fact Of the differences in the sigma
lures Immediately aroused my suspicious.
A PERSONS signature rarely differs except
when the mind is Influenced. But then
again I reflected, that time might impair
d PERSONS writing, and [ compared the
date of the will with that Of the letter.
What was my establishment to find that
they were both dated on the same day,
namely: January L, 1910. 1 next held up
the document to the light, for the purpose
of seeing if there was water mark on the
paper. found such was the case, and the
"Connecticut mills, 1843," could be made
out most distinctly.
Here was q will purporting to have been
signed in New York on the first day of
Jan'y, 1910, by aman who was in Albany on
that day, and on paper that was made three
years afterward. And yet there could be
no disputing the fact that the signature
was a genuine one. The whole truth in a
moment flashed across my mind, and i'm
mediately sat about unraveling the web.
I went to work with good heart, for had
but little doubt Of success.
My first proceeding was to make inqui-
ries as to the exact date of Mr.. Milford's
disappearance. discovered that it was Oh
the tenth day of January, and that Oliver
Milford had come to take possession of the
property On the twenty-frst [ also made
inquiries as to the past life Of the heir of
the property, and found that in Boston,
from which city he came, he bore a very
disreputable character, and that no one
would trust or believe him. l then return
ed to L., and putting up at the country
tavern, called the landlord on one side.
Mr.. Adams," said I, ''do you know any
one by the name of Dorsey living in this
neighborhood %
eyes, sir; there's Mr.. John Dorsey
who lives over the river"
s'What kind of man is he ~ I asked.
''He's a very tall, strong man." he re-
piled.
81 mean what kind of a character does
he bear?"
'Well, can't say much in his favor, so
I would rather not say anything %
II suppose he is not very much liked by
his neighbors ?''
s'You may we'll say that. Ever since he
attacked poor Mr.. Milford SO savagely,
nobody speaks to him."
ssHe attacked the late Mr.. Milford, did
he?7
eyes, sir; amost unprovoked assault.
1t seems that Mr.. Milford offended this
man in some way, and one day there was
sale in town, and MI. Milford and Dorsey
both bid for the same article. It was
knocked down to the former, and it was
after the sale that the assault was commit
ted"
ssWas,,Dorsey prosecuted for it?"