Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-30

KNOW. IneY may nave something OF Otner
they use instead of pen and ink among
themselves. AT any rate, I'll try them"
With an effort he lifted up his head, and,
seizing twig of broken brushwood from
the ground in his right hand as he did so, he
went languidly through the motions of
signing his name on blank space of the
paper The natives watched him close,
nodding and smiling acquiescence. As the
Englishman finished, two or three of them
jumped up and nodded still harder. ''Oh,
yes; oh, yes, Inglis," they answered-it
was all they could say in the tongue of the
strangers, phrase learned from the
crews of Queensland labor vessels; and
they darted off up steep path that led by
zigzag curves through dense tropical jungle
to their palm-girt village.
The dying man smiled. ''They know
what 1 mean, believe" he cried. They've
seen pen and ink before now, and they've
got them on the island. Perhaps they've
even a missionary here among them" And
he let his head fall wearily on the lap of the
native woman.
Over in London, when news arrived that
the Lika-Lika had gone to pieces on a
Pacific islet, and not a soul had finally
escaped alive, much interest was felt in the
event in the Ashby family. The yacht had
run ashore, said the Honolulu telegram, on
a coral reef in the Manihiki Islands, and
been instantly broken up by the force of
the gigantic breakers. Most of the crew
had perished at once. Mr.. Thorold Ashby,
the owner, and two common sailors, names
unknown, were flung ashore, more dead
than alive, on the fringing reef, but sue
cumbed to their injuries few days later
The islanders buried them decently on
the shore where they lay, and took
word of the accident by special canoe
to Samoa, whence it was carried to
Hawaii by the next passing mail steamer.
'In that case," Mr.. Archibald Ashby re-
marked, rubbing the palms of his hands
imperceptibly together, 'poor Thorold must
have died practically intestate, and We di-
vide the property, Percy. A jolly good
to think of it, for otherwise he might have
left every penny he possessed to that de-
signing girl Nesta."
''He made will after his marriage, you
KNOW" Mr.. Percy Ashby replied, musing.
1t would be convenient for the girls, to be
sure, this nice little windfall of te100, 900 or
so, when they'd all made sure Uncle Thorold
would marry again, just on purpose to spite
them; and, besides, there was Monty, now
about to be ordained, and Guy on the very
point of going up for direct commission.
But he had his doubts still in his own mind,
for ell that. "He made will, 1 remember"
Mr.. Percy repeated, 'JuSt after his mar
riage."
''Oh, yesw his brother answered, with
careless air of assent. "But that's all right,
Percy. Trust me for that 1 inquired into
this long ago. By the will he left every
To- 20 Ieo1 o1, Co. la-
to the children of the marriage. Well, poor
Lucy's dead, and there were no children.
So it's practically, to all intents and pur-
poses, an intestate estate. Property follows
the usual rule of succession"
HE may have made will on the island,
though, Mr.. Percy suggested. Mr.. Percy
passed always for the family pessimist.
''He may have made a fiddlestick," Mr..
Archibald answered, with cutting contempt
Mr.. Archibald invariably took the sangufne
view of things. ''But how could he-dying
among lot of naked savages? And even
if he did, who'd ever trouble to bring it
home to us? The Lika-Lika had gone to
pieces-I always knew she would, with
heathenish name like that on her stern
like tempting Providence; and where would
he get pen, ink and paper, should like to
know, on a Pacific islet? No, no, Percy;
it's all right. You may rest assured of that.
Not farthing shall Miss Nesta ever touch
of poor Thorold's property. She'd have
robbed our dear children without mo-
ment's s compunction, if only she could; and
now well pay her out. Not farthing shall
she get OF it all; not sou, not doit, not a
cent, not stiver!'
Such is the modifying and civilizing in
fuence of the possession of property upon
the family affectionsi My experience, in
deed, has been the exact opposite of the
Northern Farmers. 1t has led ME to the
conclusion that the rich sin loomp" are
bad
Now, in chambers in the Temple, at that
very time, up four pair of stairs, in room
which announced itself by tin plates at the
door to be more alarmingly overcrowded
than any East End rookery, there lived and
moved and had his being certain modest
and unassuming but briefless barrister, by
name VIII Protheroe. In point of fact, he
was the sole occupant of the chambers, and
the other gentlemen aforesaid who NOM
inally and legally dwelt there did so only
on the tenure of paying him a guinea a wear
per head for the barren privilege of having
letters and briefs (if any) addressed there
And when Will Protheroe read in the
papers one morning that the Lika-L had
gone to pieces, and Thorold Ashby was
dead, he sat down at once in great trepida-
tion, half sympathy, half smothered joy, for
a private cause, and wrote letter of con-
dolence to Nesta Clyde OH the loss of her
uncle.
1t was simple little letter enough-very
plain and conventional; but when Nesta
opened it her heart too beat high. Then in
this trouble that nice Mr.. Protheroe had re-
membered heri He had plucked up heart
of grace to write to her at last He who was
ordinarily so shy, so retiring, so timid-
scared out of his life by the grandeur of
Onslow Square! She was glad he'd written,
for she liked Mr.. Protheroe! a
However, a week passed-ten days-a
fortnight-before VIII Protheroe could
muster up courage to call in person at the
handsome house in Onslow Square that
had once been Thorold Ashby's. Mean
while, he had been engaged in prosecuting
(the only thing he had ever been asked to
prosecute, -alasD researches. Had Nesta-
he called her Nesta in his own heart to him.
self always, though he said 'tdiss Clyde" to
her face; a familiar symptom-had Nesta
really been left withouta penny? 1t was
wicked, it was cruel, it was selfish of him to
wish it, he knew; and yet-such is youth
in his heart of hearts the briehess barrister
couldn't help hoping the rumor was true,
and that Thorold Ashby had really died in
foreign parts intestate, leaving Nesta penni-
less.
For then, and in that case, Will Protheroe
thought to himself, he might venture to ask
Nesta if some day she would marry him.
He never could pluck up courage to ask
great heiress to accept his hand (which was
all he had to ofer); but if Nesta was poor,
why, he would love Ito do his best to make
her happy.