The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-03-19
A PECULIAR CASE.
The Turning Point in My Pro-
fessional Career.

When you said at the bar-dinner there
was always one peculiar case which marked
the upward turn of lawyers career re.
piled that such had been my own expert
ence. You desired to learn the particulars
which had then no time to give. To-day
being rainy time at the Springs, forbid
ding all outdoor exercise, shall kill time
by writing all about it.
We two first met and laid the foundation
of our intimacy while serving together in
the State Senate. l was then in the full
practice of my profession, with no notion
OF going upon the bench. You were from
a different part of the State, and it is
scarcely possible that you had ever heard
nuch of my early career. began practice
in Gordon County, which, thirty years
since, was in the backwoods Brantford,
its county town, has now over fifty thou
sand inhabitants; then it was struggling
village of less than eight hundred. Its
coal, its iron, and the fact that three rail-
ways cross within its limits, have forced
its expansion. At the time | settled there
1t gave no promise of mushroom growth |;
and for two years plodded along, getting
a call occasionally, and just managing to
be out of debt at the end of the year.
When l came to Brantford, the two
wealthiest men there were Able Prescott
and Benjamin Cuyp. The former had in
hetited a fine estate, and also obtained a
iarge amount of ready money by his wife.
The latter, inheriting very little, had made
money very fast, and by means not quite
creditable. The one was a free liver; the
other close and penurious. 1t was known
that Prescott had gone to the bad, as the
saying is, on the death of his wife, and was
getting embarrassed in his affairs. He
drank hard, and thus incapaciated himself
for the prudent management of business.
He bred and ran race-horses, and his colts
rarely won. He gained, and was unlucby
at that. The result was that his ready
money gave out, and the most of his real
estate became heavily mortgaged. The
money was always loaned by Cuyp; and
whenever Cuyp advanced money in that
way, the property securing the loan came
into his hands sooner or later. 1t got to be
a saying, when a mortgage with Cuyp as
mortgage was recorded: "Old Ben has
been buying another farm icheap." Cuyp
rarely put himself forward in these trans
actions. Nose M'kiSsen was the go-be-
tween. Moses was a justice of the peace,
a conveyancer and real-eState agent. He
was also an auctioneer; in fact, he en-
gagged in almost anything whereby apenny
might be made. And he had made good
many pennies. He was growing rich
Through him Cuyp loaned Prescott quite
large sums of money, which the latter
Squandered.
Prescott had an only daughter. Marion
Prescott was-but need not describe her.
You saw her when over forty-a handsome
woman; and you can imagine her at
eighteen. | had met her on several occa-
sions; but the father was still considered
rich, and l, poor young lawyer, had no
pretensions as sutton. Her father doubt
less loved her; but he did not alter his
habits for that. AT length he was attacked
by disease, and, his constitution being
utterly broken up, could not withstand it.
He died, not at the Prescott homestead, but
on what was Familiarity known as the Four
Section Purchase. About year before he
had let the family place, which was heavily
mortgaged, and removed to the large tract,
which was free from all encumbrance. His
grandfather had bought from Govern
ment four sections of rich land, extending
two miles along the river, and a mile from
1t on either side. Then it just touched the
village; now 1t is nearly all closely built
on and cut up by streets. 1t contained
twenty-five hundred and sixty acres of the
finest land in the county. One section had
been cleared and put under fence, on the
right hand side of the river, and on this a
rude but substantial frame house had been
erected. Nearly as much had been cleared
on the other side of the river. The place
was rated at between twenty and thirty
dollars an acre.
On his death-bed Prescott said to his
daughter: Il have not done very well by
you, Marion; but you'll not want. The
old homestead, and the valley farms, and
the three town houses are heavily encum-
bered. By good management, you may
keep the homestead; the rest will have to
go. Cuyp III get them. Let him foreclose
on them. You can't pay the interest, much
l. IvrE
years interest on the homestead. The rest
are desirable property, and will yield a
surplus over the debt upon them enough to
clear the homestead. l have left you exc
-S0trix. This property we are on has not q
cent against it. The cleared part Will pay
the, taxes and keep you after fashion;
and in time it Will be very valuable"
In spite of all that, on the day after the
funeral, CuYp produced a deed from Tres
colt TO himself, conveying this very prop
erfy In fee, for the expressed conSidera-
tion OF thirty thousand dollars, little more
than half its value. The deed was dated
and acknowledged more than three months
before it was offered for record. 1t was
acknowledged before M'Kissen, who was
also one of the subscribing witnesses, the
other name being that of a 10 Davis, a sort
of hanger-on of M'Kissen, who hat: been
drowned about four weeks before by the
uDsetting of boat in the river. | hap
when Cuyp brought in the document.
was at deed book, engaged in a search
and, after Cuyp had gone out, Parsons, the
County Clerk, spoke to me about it, saying
1t was bad business, as it left Miss Tres
colt without anything. 1 took the deed
from him, and looked it over. There could
be no doubt about Trescott's signature, &
bold one, with which was familiar. But
1 wondered what Prescott had done witt
=ali shat money, and said so. We talked
the matter over, and at length concluded
that he must have gained it away. Tn,
deed was odd, for various reasons, as vol
shall see presently, and suspected some
thing wrong about the transaction, though
what it was could not penetrate.
The next day / met Miss Prescott in tn
street and she accosted me.
1shir. Bonsall," she said, 81 was about t
send for you. Mr.. Grover, you know, wa
.oapa's lawyer. He is out of town, and vii
not return for several weeks. 1 must hav
counsel. 1t is about that deed which MI
Cuvp has for the Four Section Purchase.
ssHave you seed the deed itself, Mis-
-srescott:n