Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-08-29
A SINISTER SCHEME.
The Cruel Joke Uncle Toby Played
Upon His Nephew.

An elderly gentleman, whose chief
idiosyncrasies are rooted aversion to
death and fervent hatred for his heir
and successor. is not exactly a novel
character either in real life or on the
stage. But there is a material differ
ence in his behavior in the two situa-
tions. for whereas on the stage he is
almost invariably turned to repentance
by the beeuX yeux of the young lady
whom his heir has married, or by the
maddening prattle of her tiresome
child, and dies in the OdOr of sanctity
distributing indiscriminate blessings,
in real life he more often than not car
ries his spite with him to the grave.
and leaves his poSterity good reason to
eXecrate his memory in the share of an
outrageously malicious will. Sir Toby
Bunskin, of Bunskin Hall, FallOwland.
and No. $50 GrOsvenOr Square, was not
at all like the traditional old gentle
man of the stage. His hatred for his
heir. Captain Jack Bunskin, of the
Fftieth Lanccrs, was not exaggerated,
and did not betray him into foolish
excuses. but it was extremely sincere
all the more so, perhaps, because it
was absolutely unreasOnable-and if
any mutual friend had ventured to
prophesy that Sir Toby would end
by welcoming Jack to the ancestral
hall and the avuncular bosom,
he would promptly have been set
down as a lunatic of the most pro-
nounced type. 1t was in truth very
hopeless case, and Jack Bunskin had
long ago recOnciled himself to a pre-
cariOus existence on his pay, his wits,
and the money he could raise by mort
gaging his reversiOn to certain family
estates which Sir Toby had not the
power to will away from him. Now,
although Sir Toby hated Jack so
heartily, it must not be imagined that
he was sufficiently lost to the decencies
of society as to ignore his existence, to
insult him in public, or even to be
pOintedly rude TO him in private. Jack
was always asked down to Bunskin
Hall for the cOver-shooting. he was ex-
pected to assist at the annual rent
dinner of Sir Toby's tenants, and a.
certain fixed seasons he was formally
invited to GrOsvenor square. But there
Sir Toby's recognition of his relative
began and ended. He would not allow
Jack a siXpence, nor would he have
lent him f20 TO save him from the
bankruptcy court, or even from suicide,
The BarOnet was not very old-he was
barely sixty-and for bodily vigor
have envied him. He rode regularly
TO hounds, was an experienced and
successful deer-stalker, and could cast
a salmon-fy with the best fishermen in
Scotland; and he was addicted to none
of the excuses which sometimes short
en- the lives of men who indulge in
hard exercise. for he neither ate too
much nor drank too freely. In fact,
he took excellent care of himself, aud
was on very good terms with his
doctor. His friends said that he de-
lighted in the idea of keeping Jack out
of his inheritance as long rs he posi-
bly, could.
Now, all men have their small weak
nesses, and one of the most pronounced
of Sir Toby's was a passion for litera-
ture and for plays of a sensational and
blood curdling description. He rev.
elled in penny-dreadfuls and in soul
moving melOdrama; he delighted in
complicated plots of missing heirs,
forged wills. mysterious murders and
buried treasure. There was reason to
suppose that many of his strong boxes,
which presumably contained title-deeds
and ancient leases, were in reality
stuffed with rejected manuscripts and
stillbOrn dramas. declined with thanks
by purblind publishers and managers.
Sir Toby was firmly impressed with the
IDEA that had his station and his duties
been otherwise, he would have made
his fortune as a detective, and nothing
pleased him so much as endeavoring to
discover the identity of an undecided
murderer or the motive for a myster-
ious disappearance. Whenever such
an event occurred, which was pretty