The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-11-14

l REvOKE!

that am still alive and now in England Nav
come back TO Ormsby Grange? | have been bac
son TO you in the past, but viii try TO make III
for it. God willing, in the future II is nearly
three years since our quarrel when left home
and went abroad Since then have been wan
dering about the world an exile from my native
land, spending wretched existence, which has
both chastened and sobered me- am different
man. believe me- TO what ! was three years ago.
If you will not have me back again at the Grange
at all events let me see you soon-when and where
you will Myers. the money lender, to whom ]
gave the post-obit bond which was the unhappy
cause OF my final rupture with you, has heard Of
my return and is, know, on my track. cannot
Of course, pay him his iniquitous demands unless
you help me TO settle with him Pray write TO
me In any case. letter addressed TO the Lion
hotel, swale Yorkshire, will find me. Your at.
fectionate son, RICHARD HAMMOND.
Dec. 8, 1884
The recipient Of this letter, Mr.. Charles
Hammond, read it over and over again as
he reclined in the large easy chair which
had been arranged for him in his sick room
"a pale, thin, worn looking figure, wasted
almost TO skin and bones, and enveloped in
the folds of an embroidered dressing gown
He had asked to be left alone for a while
with his mornings letters, and this appeal
v.
in spite of the young mans wrongdoinQ
In the fathers heart Of hearts he was the
best beloved of all his children still. That
Dick had been unsteady, and even worse
than unsteady, in the past was only too
true, but his father now only remembered
him as frank, handsome fellow, who had
been led away by evil companions into acts
of pro6igacy and extravaganza, yet who,
hnd ha 1aff To 1
less have developed into a good and honest
man.
Mr.. Hammond, who was G5 years of age.
had been twice married, and had twice be-
come a widower Twenty years had
elapsed since the death of his second wife.
and his children were consequently all
grown up, three of them being by the first
and two by the second wife. He was a
man Of considerable wealth and of some
what eccentric habits. having lived much
alone of late His three daughters were
all married. and resided in different parts
of the country; and his only other son,
Paul, the elder of the children by the sec
ond wife, was very little at home. At the
present time, however, two of his daugh-
ters, as well as his son Paul and one of his
sons-in-law, John Laybrook, were all stay
II
gentleman was dying. His sister, too,
Miss Hammond, was also in constant at
tendance on her sick brother.
AS the invalid laid down his sons letter
he took up and began to read over a will
which he had made only few weeks pre-
viously. In this will his son Richards
name was not once mentioned. He had
left everything to his four remaining chill
dren. Mr.. Hammond was fond of will
making. He had made several at intervals
during the last twenty years. And now be
felt that he would have TO make still an
other before he died, for the receipt Of
Richards letter had filed him with for
giving thoughts.
Half an hour elapsed, and when Miss
Hammond, knocking ut the bedroom door,
received no answer she walked hurriedly
in and found her brother still where she
had left him in his chair, but strange
change had come over his face. Instinct
lively she knew what had happened. Her
brother had had a stroke. The doctor came
and did what he could The helpless form
of the paralyzed man was laid upon the
bed; restoratives were administered, but
the patient never rallied nor spoke again,
and on that night he died.
When morning dawned. and the house
hold of Ormsby Grange were astir the
servants on entering the lower rooms were
startled to find that the house had been
entered by burglars during the night and
d quantity of plate and other property
stolen. Among other places a secret cup
board in Mr.. Hammond's study, used by
him as a safe, had been broken open and
~ =.
Sode, but for house to be broken into and
robbed while the master of it lay dead in his
bed presented itself in sufficiently shock
ing light TO the mourning inmates of the
Grange. Beside the members Of the family
already alluded to and the dOmestics there
were in the house at the time the doctor,
the housekeeper-who had been in Mr.. |
Hammond's service for twenty-five years
and the nephew and niece of the house |
keeper, James and Eliza Tierce. who were
staying with their aunt on visit. Not |
one, however, of all the inmates could af- |
ford any clew to the causes or manner of |
the burglary, and the servants declared /
that all the doors and windows had been |
safely secured as usual. An entry, never |
theless, had been effected by the burglars |
through the study window, and it was evil |
IDENTIFY the secret cupboard in that room on |
which they had first laid hands.
1t was supposed that a considerable
quantity of jewelry, which had belonged
TO the second Mrs. Hammond, had been
kept by the deceased in this receptacle.
There was also reason to believe that Mr..
will had been deposited there.
The family lawyer came over on the second
day, and he was fully Of the opinion that
the will had been deposited for security in
the study safe and had been stolen along
with the jewelry. At all events no will
was forthcoming. The most minute search
Of the house failed to bring TO light the
missing document. The lawyer stated that
1t had been his late clients custom, when
he wanted 10 make fresh will, TO send to
his solicitors for the last one. He would
then make alterations and additions TO it
In his own handwriting and send il back
to be put into legal form and re-engrossed.
The new will would then be returned to
him with the old one, when he would exc
cute the former and destroy the latter with
his own hand. On the last occasion, how
ever, Mr. Hammond seemed TO have de
parted from his customary practice. He
had, as usual, sent for his last preceding
WILL and had been seen by the butler max
ing alterations and erasures in the docu-
ment, and later on he had been seen max
ing a fair copy.
On the following day he had requested
his doctor and one of the few neighbors
with whom he was on visiting terms 10
witness the execution Of will They had
duly done SO, and had both noticed that
the document which they had atteSted was
written in the teStators handwriting.
This took place about six weeks before