News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-01-12

! oeuGuleub. he ulu nOG SepardtS lrOu
, his wife; indeed, he had no evidence t.
Justify an extreme course. But he CAV
rein to his harsh, overbearing, suspi
cious nature; he crushed and humbleC
, to the earth the unhappy woman WHOM
he had sworn to love and cherish. HI
thought himself justified, perhaps, il
making her repent bitterl Y of her indis
cretion, and, perhaps, it may in CHART,
3 be doubted whether his vulgar, coarse
grained temperament enabled him t.
} realize the full extent of the suffering
he inflicted. He kept Allan Graham
letters, and in savage moments pro
duced them and tainted her with them
He held 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 compromis
ing documents continuing in existence
had always haunted Mrs. Ockdyne with
an uneasy feeling of insecurity, and she
had appealed over and over again in
vain to her husband to destroy them.
Without more ado she stirred the fire
into blaze and thrust the packet oi
letters into it. Words would fail tc
describe the blessed sensation of I'M
speakable relief with which she beheld
the fatal papers ignite and slowly burn
and shoulder away into q shapeless mass
of tinder. But she was not allowed
time to completely recover her com
posure, for barely had the flame died
down when she was startled by knock
at the door. Instantly apprehending q
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 with
out, and her brother-in-law stopped
nimbly into the room.
"What is the NATTER" inquired Mrs.
Ockdyne, in alarm and confusion.
"Your husband is worse" said Will
liam Ockdyne with comprehensive
glance ronnd the room as he spoke.
"Worse!" exclaimed Mrs. Ockdyne,
"Yes; another seizure"
Mrs. Ocldyne rushed past without
giving another thought to her room as
to her ownaffairs. Had she done SO, she
would have waited to allow him to pre-
cede 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 q
word did he utter, however, but followed
silently to his brothers's 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 awestricken and chast-
ened feeling which the last earthly scene
never fails to impart, aud when, later in
the day, she went downstairs to give
some orders to her servants, she learned
that William Ockdyne had just left,
after taking possession of the dead mans
keys, and thoroughly overhauled oil the
dead mans papers. Seals had been
placed upon her husbands desk and es-
critoire, upon the plate and even,
as she was informed, upon the door of
the wine-cellar. Mrs. Ockdyne expert
enced some natural Indignation at these
proceedings, considering that her hus-
band had ceased to breathe but o few
hours previously. The news, however,
affected her chiefly as proving what
wise precaution she had taken in secur-
ing those fatal letters-now happily no
more; fact which rendered her COM
pletely Indifferent to William Ockdyne'p
proceedings.
There was curious Difference in the
tone OF the servants when they mention
ed the name and stated the orders given
by her brother-in- law, and a marked mys-
terry in their manner toward herself, which
puzzled Mrs. Ockdyne, though she for
bore to make any remark on the subject.
But she concluded from these signs that
it had gone forth that William Ockdyne
was his brothers heir and that she her
self was, SO to speak, deposed. Her
brother -in-law's bearing toward her, how
ever, during the interval before the fun
It was true that he took possession of
his brothers, valuables; and assumed a
control over the household which Mrs.
Ockdyne did not care to dispute. But
while treating the poor lady with the
scantest courtesy, he seemed to regard
her with sort of jealous suspicion, which
which appeared quite accountable. The
result was, that although Mrs. Ockdyne
stroye to take comfort from the refec-
ton 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 off.
William Ockdyne did not let fall
single word about the contents of his
brothers will to his sster-in-law before
the funeral, and as he seemed desirous
to avoid the subject Mrs. Ockdyne fore
bore to question him. But on the after
noon of the day when the funeral took
place, he grimly requested her to, when
the other members had left 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
information, when she found her broth
er-in-law in company with a sharp fea-
tured, red-whiskered little man, whom
he briefly introduced to her as Mr.. Bo-
gle, the solicitor who had prepared the
will.
AS soon as Mrs. Ockdyne had seated
herself Mr.. Boyle produced from his
pocket somewhat torn and dilapidated
looking document, from which he pro-
ceeded to read i'll q brisk, high-toned
voice. The will of the deceased, which
was dated some years back, may be
briefly summarized as follows: The wild
ow took only a legacy of $4,000 and
certain furniture, and the bulk of the
testator's property went to his brother
William, who was appointed sole execu-
tor.
cit is what 1 expected" said Mrs.
Ockdyne, quietly, when the lawyer had
finished, imagining, from the way that
he and her brother-in-law stared at
her, that she was expected to say some
thing.
'.No doubt, madam, it is what YOU
expected, said Mr.. Boyle, briskly, as
he folded up the document, "And now,
if you please, will you kindly hand me
the original p
"The original will, do you meant" in
quired Mrs. Ockdyne, innocently. els
not that it2"
''No, madam. This is the draft of the
will which L prepared for the testator,
and which l saw him execute" said Mr.. !
Boyle, shaking the document at her i'm
prcssively. "The testator took away
the original, and kept it himself"
"Why do you suppose that l have the |
will!' exclaimed Mrs. Ockdyne, in sur
prise.
The lawyer looked slightly embar-
rassed at the question and glanced up at
William Ockdyne, who had remained |
in front of the fireplace during
the scene, Watching his sister-in- law in
tently. He now came forward and said,
slowly and distinctly:
because you took it out of the escri- |
toire yonder wien my brother was dy-
ing"
Mrs. Ockdyne half rose from her seat
at this startling accusation, but dropped |
back into it again, as she realized that
the occasion referred to was when she
alb tracted Allan Graham's letters.
stI nnYer snw tha Uill nn1 know moth