Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1885-07-14
A FOX CAUGHT.
london Truth


was an exceedingly popular man among thu
ladies of Scarborough, both old and young
and, had his views lain In the direction o.
matrimony, he would have had small din
Guilty In inducing any bashful damsel Of
frisky widow to share his lot But
| the handsome solicitor was ambitious
4 his share in the business did not a
present bring him in more than q moderat.
income. and he had long ago determined
1 that when he married he must consider moi
only beauty, but moro solid advantages.
Heiresses, however, were not plentiful il
Scarborough, and SO, although Mr.. Fox
attentions frequently futtered virgin
bosom, he was careful not to commit himself
too far, and not even tho local gossips could
fairly say OF him that he had compromised
reputation or knowingly raised false hopes.
| There was, indeed, one young lady who had
made deep impression upon the solicitors
heart, but she was the dat ter Of a county
magnate with whom poor Mr.. Fox wal
not even on visiting terms He had met
| her at the annual hunt hall, shs
had danced twice with him, for Mr.. Foz
was an excellent Walter; but her mother
had doubtless warned her against him, for
when next they mat, some six weeks after
ward, Miss LaquertVn passed the unfortu
nate man without SO much as . bow. Miss
Laquerton, however. was lovely and rich,
and Mr. Fox was not a man to be easily dis
couraged He knew that il he could only
afford to cut the Office and blossom into .
landed proprietor, he would have just a.
good a chance with her as any body else; so
he waited patiently in the hopes Of one day
discovering the road which leads to fortune
and success.
The firm Of Plumley e. Fox was Q highly
respectable and old-fashioned concern,
which avoided litigation and kept almost
entirely to family business. Plumley was q
fairly good lawyer, but Fox's legal knowl-
edge was of the most limited character, and
he was much too lazy to take the trouble to
increase it. So it came to Be understood be-
tween them that while Plumley did the Of.
fee work, Fox kept the clients in good hu.
NOR by calling on them apropos Of nothing,
and amusing them with his jokes and sto-
ries. This business was technically termed
keeping the connection together and
it suited Mr. Fox very well indeed
IL was while he was thus keeping
the connection together that Mr..
Fox made the acquaintance OF a certain
rich old willow lady. named Mrs. johnson.
and so well did he play his cards that before
long Plumley & Fox became Mrs. Johnson's
fa.uily solicitors, land agents, and confiden-
tial advisers. The firm made pretty good
thing out of Mrs. johnson. In accordance
with the usual arrangement, Plumley trans
acted the business and Fox became . con-
slant visitor at her house, and WORKED his
way into her good graces by his wonderful
powers of amusing conversation. There was
yet another accomplishment which stood our
solicitor in very good stead, and this Was an
accurate knowledge Of chemistry snd rnedi-
cine, which he had picked up as a boy in the
shop of his uncle, TIP chemist The horri-
bic smells young Fox had created In his ex-
periments and the ugly stains he had made
ON his hands determined him to forsaks
medicine for the Law, but he never entirely
forgot his early experiences He could talk
fluently about every known drug and dis
ease, AMI about great many which had
not yet been discovered. He diagnosed Mrs.
Johnson's symptoms at least as accurately
as Mac BoIus. the Scotch doctor, and would
even have prescribed for her had not the
stalwart Scot angrily threatened to lick him
if he did So But Le maintained u very
prominent place in the old lady's affections,
and it began to he whispered about that he
hal an excellent chance Of succeeding ~ her
very considerable property.
The disposal of Mrs. Johnson money
was matter which had long furnished
speculation of unfailing Interest to tie town
Of Scarborough. and filled many yawn-
ing gap in conversation at afternoon teas.
Mrs. Johnson had but one relative in the
world, Mss Lizzie Roberts, the daughter Of
her late sister This young lady. however.
it was agreed, had not the slightest chance
IT Icing mentioned in her aunts viii A
handsome. welI-bred girl, she was lett at her
parents death to make Ter own way in the
world. inheriting nothing but the battle Of
life ami the dislike of Mrs johnson. who
had no; seen the child since it quilted
its baby clothes. This strange antipatay
was traceable some people said. to times
long gone by, when Mr. Roberts, Lizzie,
father, then renowned for his manly beauty,
had been an assiduous visitor at tn. house
Of Mrs. Johnson parents. She Icing the
elder daughter, and taking all his attentions
for herself, had felt it keenly as a personal
insult when her sister dared 'to snatch him
away and even later on, after having made
a much more brilliant match herself she
never could forgive this early defeat
Death even had not buried the grudge,
which not unnaturally passe1 from mother
to child.
How far this saying may have been true
or net, me thing was certain: poor Lizzie
Roberts had not the ghost If chance Of
ever seeing \ sin lie penny from her aunt's
money box; her claiVs we're clearly quite
Cut If the question. There remained, then,
only Miss Nelly Brown, Mrs. Johnson's lady
companion, and Mr. James Fox.
Mr.. James Fox knew from his partner,
who had cautioned him in friendly way
that Mrs.. johnson was not going to divide
her fortune, but would leave the whole Of it
TO her "truest friend" though she had evil
IDENTIFY not yet made her mind up as to who
deserved that title. More than once had Mr..
Plumley been suddenly summoned to draw
up a new will; so slight an annoyance n
cold cup Of tea having caused her to de
stroy the one in Miss Nelly's favor. Then
two days neglect on the part Of Mr.. Fox,
and constant supply OF hot tea ut the
hands OF Miss Nelly again reinstated this
lady in Mrs Johnson's good graces. Mr..
Fox, therefore, had good cause for anxiety
rs TO what would be the exact state Of affairs
when the old lady WAS finally called upon to
join the ma jority.
with such an old woman" he said to
himself, "who is ready to make a new will
any day and TO burn it the next. there is no
dependence, ones future hangs upon a within;
a remedy must be found The safest thing
would, of course, be to make love to Miss
Nelly; she is rather 'thirtyish' and alto
gether not very attractive, still, il she were
10 get all the money she would lie anything
hut undesirable
So Mr.. James Fox set to work at once to
make himself agreeable to Miss Brown, yet
without going too far; for he had by no
means forgotten Miss Laquerton, but he felt
it WAS better TO have two strings to his bow,
and therefore be determined to do his best
10 keep Miss Nelly in good humor. This
lady, however. was not So easily satisfied rs
the solicitor expected, for now he had once
begun 10 pay her attentions, she wanted .
decided offer Of marriage, and not being
able Ia get it, she took refuge in q strata4em.
This consisted ia suddenly making the dis
covery that Mr.. Johnson's health was in
in fact, she decided that it was quite
dangerous for her TO spend the
spring in England. with all the changes OF
heat and cold. The old lady was therefore
soon persuaded to yield 10 such tender solicit
tuie, and away the couple went, leaving Mr..
James Fox in n rather awkward dilemma
What WAS he tn dos IL he wrote cool letters
tn Miss Nelly, she would be offended and all
his chances would be lost in the event Of her
inheriting Mrs. Johnson's property; on the
other hand, if he played the part Of a lover,
he committed himself, and gave her the
materials for breach of-promisss case should
the good lady die. when his name only
figured in her will. AMI shouli he then turn
n.