Mexico weekly ledger., 1882-03-02

Ii1o.N nav Z i'NCh tIit VIII tlidI
Stokes had destroyed, for they read:
My real and personal property
- Henry Gunson -
- the testator in
- -- - his presence and
Il compared the scraps of paper
with the copy found in the trunk, and
it was without doubt in the same
handwriting. l would have turned
to the clerk. whose name stood first
as a witness. but he was dead: or to
the one who had written and wit
messed the original will, who at this
moment | felt sure must know some
thing of this fraud. but he had gone
to drink year or two before. and
had been reluctantly compelled to part
with him. l asked if any one had
got his address, and by strange CO.
incidence a letter had come from him
that very day to one Of my clerks,
asking him to call. for he was verv
i'll. The moment l got that | started
off for Peters lodgings in cab. i
found him in bed, evidently in a rap
id consumption, and had only to hold
up the forged will and say significant
lv. How ON earth did YOU come to
do this to make the blood leave his
face. He would not confess, howev-
er, until | gave him a pledge that lie
would not be punished for his share
III the forgery, and that was more
than l could take upon me 10 prom
Use: so l left him, and made nv way
to the miserable homeof the Morleys.
BY miserable l don't mean unhappy,
but poor. When was admitted to
the house found they occupied two
rooms, on the second floor. The
heiress Of Stokes large fortune was
busy on her knees before the fire.
toasting bread for her husbands tea,
and her own rosy checks at the same
time, and Morley himself seated in d
corner Of the room, writing with 8
swift hand at the law papers he spent
his evenings in copying. Mrs. Nor.
! ley was quite young thing, and sc
good-looking that l could scarcely
believe her the daughter Of my de.
ceased client.
when / told them Of the death Of
old Matthew Stokes, any one would
have thought they had lost their kind
est friend. His daughter was over.
come with grief. l assured her from
what | had heard, her father had for.
given her. and that if he had know
their address he certainly would hav.
sent for them. Both listened breath
lessly to my story. and then. wheI
gave my opinion that nothing nov
could stand in the way of inheritins
her father wealth. she simply wen
to her husband, clasped him tight,
in her arms and kissed him, and theI
burst into tears. But when l spok,
Of prosecuting her fathers cousin she
with the true tenderness and tact O.
a woman, said, No; my father woult
never have disgraced q relative. ever
though he deserved it. Perhaps i
you write him a letter telling hin
what You have discovered he vii
trouble us no more
1t was hard to let the rascal slip
but | wrote to Gunson accordingly
and if my pen had been dippes
i'll acid, could not have writer
stronger. He needed no second dose
Without even the politeness to repl,
he was off to America by the quickes
route. fearing every inch Of the way
/ expect, that the police were in hi
wake. / got the whole of the detail
of the plot out of Peter Chipps, fror
which it appeared that Gunson II
sooner discovered that his cousin ha.
burnt the will formerly y executed i
his favor, than he sought out my lat
clerk as fitting tool to produce du
plicate from the draft. The pric
given was a mere trife-some Is G
&c; but Peter had resolved to blee
his employer without mercy the INC
, ment he had got possession Of the ol
mans money, by means of the forge
document. Peter was dying when h
, made the confession, but Mrs. Morle
was at his house next day, and too
the poor fellows breath away by te
: ling him she would see that his vii
| and children were well cared for. II
{ stricken man stared at her some mt
5 ments in dead silence, and then /
f feebly snatched at her hands an
: burst into tears. He couldn't speal
: but the simple gesture said mo-
f than a thousand worlds could ha,