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


distinctly:
because you took it out Of the escritoire
yonder when my brother was dyingn
Mrs. Ockdyne half rose from her seat at
| this startling accusation, but dropped back
into it again, as she realized that the occa.
sion referred to was when she abstracted
| Allan Graham's letters.
Il never saw the will, and know nothing
about it." was all she could say in her agi-
tation and alarm.
did you burn it, madam, in your room
| that day when interrupted you with the
| news that your husbands last moments
had arrivedi" said William Ockdyne, lean
ing forward and addressing her in harsh
and menacing tone.
Ill. No. Certainly not ~ gasped
the poor lady, fairly overwhelmed with this
fresh accusation.
'One OF the servants can prove that you
left your husbands bedside when you
| thought you were unperceived, and came
in here with your hts bands keys in your
| hand. Another can cerroborate my evil
| dence that Immediately afterward you
burnt document in the fire in your room.
Some Of the ashes have been collected and
will be put in evidence" continued her
brother-in-law, evidently seeking to con
vince her of the hopelessness OF denial
THE case is quite complete" added the
| lawyer, in a self-satisfed tone. probate
will be granted on this draft, upon the
| strength Of the evidence-the strong evi,
dence-which we can produce to prove the
destruction OF the original"
what do you suggest could have been
my object in destroying the will, supposin g
l were capable of doing such thingl" in
quired Mrs. Ockdyne, recovering her pres
ence Of mind sufficiently to be conscious of
the necessity of realizing her position.
THE motive is obvious" replied Mr.. Bo-
gle, with a smile. IF your husband had
died intestate, you would have been enti-
tied, as his widow, roughly speaking, to
half his property instead OF &c, 600 only"
The significance of this reply had crush
ing effect upon the poor lady, whose per-
ceptions, naturally far from dull, were rem
dered doubly acute by the danger Of her
position. She realized that the very act of
proving her innocence Of the monstrous &C
cusation brought against her would reveal
the secret which she had fondly hoped was
now forever buried-the story OF her sup
posed shame. If brought to trial, it mat
tered not whether she might be found in
nocent or guilty OF the principal charge; in
either case the miserable story which had
wrecked her life would be dragged forth
and published to the world.
"You doubtless perceive, madam, that
your attempted fraud will not avail you.
The des trucuion of the will is crime in
itself, which renders you liable, l believe,
to pen al servitude," resumed William Ock-
dyne. glancing at the lawyer. 81 am un-
willing, however," he added, "for the sake
Of my brothers. memory, and for the sake
OF our family name, which you have the
right to bear, that scandal should be caused
If, under Mr.. Bogle's directions, you will
sign the neces sary documents TO enable me
to administer to my brothers. estate and to
retain possession of his property, which l
am entitled to under the terms Of his will,
l will be content to let the matter rest"
Having said this, William Ockdyne re-
sumed his former position upon the hearth
rug, while the lawyer proceeded to explain
the details OF the proposed arrangement.
The poor lady's first impulse was to accept
the conditions offered, but the sense of JUS
tice to herself fortunately restrained her.
81 will consider your proposal" she said,
tremulously. because, so far as the money
is concerned, am absolutely Indifferent.
But must have time for reflection"
'How long do you requiref' said her
brother-in-law, reluctantly.
"a week." said Mrs. Ockdyne, rising
with dignity from her place at the table.
William Ockdyne exchanged glances
with the lawyer, and seemed on the point
of demonstrating with her; but apparently
he changed his mind, for he permitted his
sister-in-law to retire from the room with
out another word.
AS a matter of fact, however, Mrs.
Ockdyne had already resolved to compy
with his demand sooner than incur
the odium and scandal involved in public
trial 1t was absolutely true, as she had
stated, that she was Indifferent to the pc.
cuniary aspect of the question; for she was
not an avariciOus women, and she possessed
few thousand pounds of her own. 1t was
only her proper pride and self-respect
which had suggested to her to take time for
consideration. 1t was impossible to doubt,
from her brother-in-law's demeanor, that
he seriously believed that she was guilty of
the charge he brought against her; and
this led poor Mrs. Ockdyne to wonder uu-
easily whether she could really have de-
strOyed the will Allan Graham's letters
formed bulky packet, and it had certainly
not occurred to her to 60 through them in
order to ascertain that there was no other
paper tied up with them. Her husbands
will was stort document, and it would
have been characteristic of his brutally
vindictive disposition if he had placed the
letters with his will, as a sort of grim ex-
planation to her of the cause of the meager
provision he had made for her This idea,
far-fetched as it might have appeared to
her in calmer moments, nevertheless tended
to strengthen her decision.
Having arrived at this conclusion. Mrs.
Ockdyne was almost relieved at receiving
a second visit from her brother-in-law, who
called later in the evening, to urge her to
sign the necessary documents, waving her
legal claims, without delay. He had brought
the papers with him and Mrs. Ockdyne
could not Withstand the temp alton of dis
posing of the whole miserable business
without the worry OF further harassing re-
Elections. William Ockdyne's manner,
moreover, though peremptory and over
bearing, was nevertheless more conclia-
tory than it had been earlier in the day,
and he evinced a desire, which poor Mrs.
Ockdyne in her trouble appreciated, to
spare her feelings by avoiding any un-
pleasant illusions. She had actually taken
up her pen, for the purpose of signing
away her interest in her husbands prop
erty, when a maid-servant entered the
room, and rather mysteriously requested
her to come outside at once
William Ockdyne impatiently asked her
to sign the papers before she left, but his
sister-in-law, resenting his interference,
laid the pen aside and rose in response to
the servants summons. Outside the door
the girl whispered that gentleman was in
the dining-room. who would not give his
q fbof ho ad
with Mr.. William Ockdyne, but desired to
speak to her forthwith
Considerably mystified and vaguely
ILL