Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-01-05
A MISPLACED KINDNESS.

On the death of Colonel Laking no
one was more surprised at his not hav-
ing left will than Mr. Alfred Laking,
his nephew and heir. at-law. That gen-
tlem'n had the hest reasons for know
ing that his uncle was not well disposed
toward HMM fact. the Colonel had
refused to have anything to do with him
Tor some years past. The truth was
that Alfred Laking was once guilty of
an act of meanness which his uncle
never forgave. and, there ore, the fort
innate heir had not expected to benefit
by his unclo's death. But even out
siders, who knew nothing OF the cause
OF eStrangcmcnt between the Colonel
and his nephew, were amazed ut the old
gentleman dying intestate. He had so
frequently expressed his determination
OF preventing his nephew from succeed
ing to his property, and had made so
many wills ut different times with that
object, that his inteStacy caused uni
yersal astOnishment 1t was generally
supposed that his somewhat sudden
death had frustrated his testamentary
intentions, or else that, ut the last mo-
ment. he hal realized the force of the
old adage that blood Is thicker than
water and had been content to permit
his nephew to inherit by the ordinary
course of law.
But while Mr. Alfred Laking received
the congratulations of his friends with
equanimity. and apparently acquiesced
in the general opinion that he was
very lucky individual. he did not bv any
means feel secure of his inheritance.
His natural cunning. and his mean, sus-
plciouS nature suggested the idea that
his uncle had not failed to take due pre-
cautions To guard against the contin-
gency which had happened. He did not
believe for an instant that the old man
feelings had softened toward him i'm his
last moments, any sentiment approach
ing magnanimity being beyond the mar
row limits Of his moral perceptions. In
his heat of hearts he felt convinced
that there was n will in existence. and
that he owed his Inheritance to the &C
cidental circumstance of the document
having been mislaid or overlooked.
But though this foreboding possessed
him so strongly that il amounted almost
to IN raj certainty, he took no steps to
verify his suspicious On the contrary.
he carefully refrained from doing any
thing of the kind. He did. indeed.
stealthily and in secret scrutinize his
uncle's papers, destroying all those
which contained suspicious memoran-
da. But he omitted TO take the obyi-
Gus course Of advertising in the newspa-
pers. or applying To the various legal
gentlemen whose services his Snowl-
edge-his uncle had from time to time
employed. He thought it possible
probable, in fact-that one OF these
might be in possession of n will: but he
could never summon up courage To ask.
He kept the fact of the old mans death
as quiet rs possible. not even announc-
ing the event in the daily papers. He
employed strange solicitor To perform
the legal work connected with the adj.
ministration Of the estate. and. in short.
endeavored to avoid publicity in every
way.
For the first few months of his uncle's
death he was perpetualy haunted by
the dread that his elaborate precaution
would be thrown away; but when a wear
had passed he began to breathe more
fire ely. The chances were. he thought.
that, II n will existed. it would have
turned up by this time, or else il would
probably rot away in its hiding place.
Thus BY degrees the phantom coniured
up by his pusillanimous Imagination be-
came less appalling. until one day his
anxiety was revived by very ominous
incident
A shabbily dressed, middle-aged man
called upon him. and said he had an i'm
portant communication to maze. He