The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1888-01-12

charity be doubted whether MS vulgar,
coarse-grained temperament enabled him
to realize the full extent Of the suffering he
inflicted. He kept Allan Graham's letters,
and in savage moments produced them ana
tauuted her with them. he he'd them
in terrorism over her-threatening to show
them, even; though his wife, cowed as she
was, could never believe him capable OF
this baseness. Still, the very fact OF these
| compromising documents continuing IN
existence had always haunted Mrs. Ock-
dyne with an uneasy feeling OF insecurity,
and she hs1 appealed over and over again
in vain TO her husband to destroy them.
John Cc6dyne's sudden illness had been
totally unexpected, and little as his wife
had cause TO love him, she did not hear
without emotion the doctors startling YER
dict But in the midst of her distress the
recollection of those dreadful letters came
upon her with painful shock. for her hus-
band had more than once told her with sig
uificance that he had appointed MS brother
William executor of his will Horrified at
the prospect that her brother-in-law, whom
she could not but regard as her enemy,
knowing his hostile influence upon her hus-
band, would obtain possession OF the let
ters. she had yielded TO an irrepressible i'm
pulse which urged her to secure them
while vet there was time.
Having accomplished her object, the poor
lady was considerably frightened at what
she had done, for her terror of her husband
overshadowed her, even though he lay
helpless at deaths door before her eyes.
The possibility Of his recovery suggested
startling reflections to her agitated mind !;
while she dreaded scarcely less her action
hpIn0 nd huh hnr
demeanor Of the latter, which. to her ex-
cited imagination, seemed plainly to indi-
cate some suspicion of what she had been
doing. increased her uneasy apprehension,
and she was grateful indeed to avail her
self of the doctors interference and to flee
from William Ockdvne's hatred presence,
When she found herself alone, however,
in her own boudoir, she plucked up her
spirit, and determined to destroy the let
ters at once, resolutely disregarding what
might happen in case her husband should
recover. Without more ado she stirred the
fire into a blaze and thrust the packet Of
letters into it. Words would fail to de-
scribe the blessed sensation of unspeaka-
bic relief with which she beheld the fatal
papers ignite and slowly burn and smoul-
der away into ShapeleSs mass OF cinder.
But she was not allowed tiRe to completely
recover her composure, for barely had the
flame died down when she was startled by
a knock at the door. Instantly apprehend-
ing message relating to her husband, she
rose at once and turned the key back in the
lock; but before she could grasp the handle
the door was opened from without, and her
brotheT-in-law stepped nimbly into the
room.
"What is the matter?" inquired Mrs.
Ockdyne, in alarm and confusion
"Your husband is worse" said William
Ockdyne, with comprehensive glance
round the room as he spoke.
"Worse' exclaimed Mrs. Ockdyne.
''Yes; another seizure"
Mrs. OcKdyne rushed past without giving
another thought to her own affairs. Had
she done so, she would have waited to al
low him to precede her, for in the single
instant that he fingered on the threshold of
her room, he unhappily caught sight of the
charred embers in the fireplace. Not
word did he utter, however, but followed
silently to his brothers bedside.
The seizure which William Ockdyne came
to report turned out to be the last flicker of
John Ockdyne's life. A few minutes later
he had expired.
Mrs Ockdyne left the chamber of death
with that awe-stricken and chastened feel
ing which the last earthly scene never
fails to inspire, and when, later in the day,
she went down stairs to give some orders
to her servants, she learned that William
Ockdyne had just left, after taking pos
session Of the dead mans keys, and thor
oughly overhauled all the dead mans pa
pers. Seals had been placed upon her hus-
bands desk and escritoire, upon the plate
chest, and even, as she was informed, upon
the door of the wine-cellar. Mrs. Ockdyne
experienced some natural Indignation at
these proceedings, considering that her
husband had ceased to breathe but a few
hours previously. The news, however, af
fected her chiefly as proving what wise
precaution she had taken in securing those
fatal letters-now, happily, no more; a fact
which rendered her completely Indifferent
to William Ockdyne's proceedings.
There was a curious Difference in the
tone of the servants when they mentioned
the name and stated the orders given by
her brother-in-law, and a marked mystery
in their manner toward herself, which puz-
zled Mrs. Ockdyne. though she forbore to
make any remark on the subject. But she
concluded from these signs that it had gone
forth that William was his brothers heir,
and that she herself was, so to speak, de-
posed. Her brother-in-law's bearing toward
her, however, during the interval before
the funeral did not entirely bear out this
idea 1t was true that he took possession
of his brothers valuables, aud assumed
control over the household which Mrs
Ockdyne did not care to dispute. But
while treating tho poor lady with the
scantest courtesy, he seemed to regard her
with sort of jealous suspicion, which ap-
peared quite unaccountable. The result
was, that although Mrs. Ockdyne strove to
take comfort from the reflection that he
was pOwerless to harm her in any way, she
was seized with vague and uncomfortable
presentiment of evil which she could not
shake eff.
William Ockdyne did not let fall a single
word about the contents of his brothers.
will to his sister-in-law before the funeral,
and as he seemed desirous to avoid the sub
ject Mrs Ockdyne forebore to question
him. But on the afternoon of the day when
the funeral took place he grimly requested
her, when the other mourners had lett the
house, to step into the study to hear the
will read. This she accordingly did, more
because she thought it was expected of her
than from any pressing desire for informa-
tion, when she found her brother in law in
company with a sharp-featured, red -whis-
kered little man, whom he briefly intro
duced to her as Mr.. Boyle, the solicitor who
had prepared the will.
AS soon as Mrs. Ockdvne had seated her
self Mr.. Boyle produced from his pocket a
somewhat torn and dilapidated looking
document, from which he proceeded to
read in q brisk, high-toned voice. The will
of the deceased, which was dated some
years back, may be briefly summarized as
follows: The widow took only a legacy of
1000 and certain furniture, and the bulk
Of the testator's property went to his