The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-06-07
THE FATAL BEQUEST.
A Box Of Diamonds and What Be-
came of Them.

III tflo wear 1OTtN, HlleT roaming dDOuU pOOu
deal in South America, shipped as doctor on
board a trader leaving Rio. homeward bound
for Bristol, with full cargo and couple of
cabin passengers. We sailed on a blazing hot
day, with scarcely breath of wind to fill the
sails but the captain was anxious to get away,
as yellow Jack was in port and he had no mind
to keep knocking his heels in quarantine longer
than he could help. Fortunately breeze
quickly sprang up, and we were soon bowling
along as fast as the old ship could go, and with
a clean bill of health on board
A week later, however, was sitting forward,
smoking my pipe when Pete, the stewards
mate, came up, and summoned me to see one of
our two cabin passengers Mr.. Grierson, who
had been very unwell during the night, and be-
gan to be afraid that he was in for touch of
the fever. went aft and saw him, but there
did not appcir to be any very alarming symp-
toms just at present. so prescribed some cool
ing medicine and left him.
He was worse, however, next day. and the
next vet it was not case of yellow fever, and
there was something in the symptoms that l
am not ashamed to say fairly baffied me. On
the third day he was so much worse that be-
gan to be seriously alarmed. and communicated
my fears to Captain McFarlanc
1T is not yellow fever, of that | am sure,
said I.
"What is it. then, doctor?'
"Wel to tell the truth. can hardly say.
Nothing that can administer seems to do him
anv good and he il evidently sinking rapidly
. Hunph ~ said the captain mysterious, to
say the least of it. Does he know of his condi-
tion?'
The conversation was cut short by the arrival
of the negro Pete, who informed us that Mr..
Grierson h4d been seizel with sudden and
alarming access of pain. and was apparently
dying adding that the patient wished to see me
at once and alone In obedience to the sum-
mons Immediately went below, and having
shut the cabin door and administered the nee
essary remedies, asked the reason for his wish
ing to see me.
AZ wish to see Won because feel that am
dying. and can put off no longer what wish
to say. if it is to he said at all" responded the
patient. feeblv: fetch me th box from off
the top of my sea chest and listen"
brought it, a small obong mahogany box,
and laid it by his side upon the coverlet, and
Mr.. Griorsol.. laying his hand upon it and at
the same time detaching key from string by
which it was suspended round his neck, with
which his fingers played nervously during his
recital. continued
81 am murderer. Ave you may start and
think perhaps that my mind is wandering, but
it is the truth Twenty-Five years ago-twents-
five years of misery L committed the deed
which am now, in the presence of my Maker,
about to confess. was clerk i'll q banking
house in London, and the opportunities for
peculation were too much for me to Withstand,
but circumstances occurred which convinced
me that discovery could hardly be much longer
delayed, and l was casting about how to make
my escape while there was yet time. Just at
this jumcture one of the senior clerks in the
house had to be sent down to Bristol in charge
of a very large sum of money in gold, and
was deputed to accompany him to guard the
treasure. In those times we had to take the
money in box, strongly secured and sealed.
with u.s. by the mail coach, which started from
one of the old inns III the city, for the west of
England There were two thousand guineas
in the box, and the idea suggested itself to my
mind that if l could become master of such
sum could get clear away by some ship leav-
ing Bristol for foreign parts before the bank
could become aware Of the fact of my escape.
10 get rid of my companion, procured poison,
which / poured into the leathern bottle, in
which carried my .refreshment on the road,
and, watching my opportunity, offered it to him
to drink. He sank back in corner of the
coach. and in few minutes was corpse.
Emptying the remaining contents of the bottle
out of the window, and placing the dead man
in such an attitude as would lead people to sup
pose he had died naturally, hailed the guard
with every stimulation of trepidation, and stop
ped the coach. The outside passengers got
down, and a scene of great excitement occur
red At the next village, the local DOCTOR who
as it happened was man of no great skill was
sent for, and deXterously insinuating TO him
that | had known my companion to have suffer-
ed from heart disease of some years standing,
with many compliments to the professional
acumen of the doctor himself, that worthy was
not long in pronouncing it a case of sudden
death from disease of the heart and was suf-
fered, in view of my representations as to the
urgency of my mission to Bristol, to proceed on
my journey. l succeeded in leaving England
and reaching Brazil, where l amassed for
tune. hat fortune is within the box which
lies beneath my hand"
He paused, for a violent spasm seized him,
ard it was some time before l could recover
him sufficiently to enable him TO proceed.
Raising himself in bed with difficulty, he
unlocked the box, and disclosed an array OF
unset diamonds, whose brilliancy fairly daZZled
me.
" Here are c500G0 worth of diamonds" pro-
Ct tedel Mr. Griersou. ~ have converted all
my fortune into these gems, and these | intend
TO entrust to your care. Take this box at once
to your own cabin and return to me for your
instructions as to the disposal of the contents. "
hestatci, hui he was imperative.
Not D word | am dying fast, aud i'm
plore you to accede to my last request"
took the box, locked it, and left the cabin
As passed along the main deck toward my
own cabin forward, j met Captain McFarlane.
g How is your patient, doctorY"
"Dying. fear He cannot last long"
l passed on, and, depositing the box in a
place of safety, returned. Grierson was rapid
ly sinking. and in few broken sentences he
instructed me as to the disposal of his property,
of which e10, 0,00l was to go to the bankers, Holt
Il Wardley, of Lombard street, and the rest to
the family of the murdered man, whose name
was given me, and whose representative l
pledged my word to do my best to discover.
Finally binding me over not to disclose what
had just been told, except TO the parties named
by him in his dying bequest, Grierson relapsed
iuto state of partial insensibility, from which
| in vain attempted to rouse him, and before
half an hour had elapsed, the unhappy man was