Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1892-10-09
AN UNCLE VANISHED.

An elderly gt0t4atnAAt WAoSe SbaSi III
Iosyucrnsies are . rooted aversion TO
death and feryent hatred for his heir
and successor. is not exactly novel
character either in real life or on the
stage. BUT there Is material difference
in his behavior in tho two situations, for
whereas on the stage is he almost invari-
ably turned 10 repentance by the teaux
yeux Of the young lady whom his heir
has married. or by the maddening pratt
Gle az her tiIesome child, and dies in the /
odor Of slnctity distributing indiscrimi-
nate blessings, in real life he more often |
than not carries his spite with him to |
the grave and leaves his posterity good |
reason to execrate his memory IN the |
shape Of an outrageously malicious will.
Sir Toby Bunskin. of Bunskin Hall,
Fallowland and No $50 Grosvenor
square. London. was not at all like the
traditional old gentleman of the stage.
His hatred for his heir. Capt. Jack Bun
skin. Of the Fiftieth Lancers, was not ex-
sggerated, and did not betray him into
foolish excuses, but it was sincere-the
more So perhaps, because it was abso-
lutely unreasonable.
And Jack had long ago reconciled him
self to n precarious existence on his pay
his wits and the money he could raise by
mortgaging his reyersion 10 certain fam
ily estates which Sir Toby had not the
power Of willing away from him.
Now. although Sir Toby hated Jack
so heartily, 1t 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 point
eddy rude to him in private. Jack WAS
always asked down to Bunskin Hall for
the cover shooting he was expected TO
assist at the annual rent dinner Of Sir
Toby's tenants. and at certain fixed sea-
sons he was formally invited to Gros-
venor square. But there Sir Toby't
recognition Of his relative began and
ended. He would not allow Jack a six
pence. nor would he have lent him ca
TO save him from the bankruptcy court
or even from suicide.
The baronet was not very old-he wa
barely sixty-and for bodily vigor man
man Of fiye-and-forty might have er
WED him. He rode regularly to hounds
was an experienced and successful dee
stalker and could cast salmon fly wit
the best fishermen in Scotland and h
was addicted to none of the excesse
which sometimes shorten the lives {
men who indulge in hard exercise, fc
he neither ate too much nor drank to
freely. In fact, he took excellent care
himself. and was on very good tern
with his doctor His friends said thu
he delighted in the idea of keeping JAG
ont of his inheritance rs long AS he pc
sibly could
Now. all men have their small wea
nesses, and one of the most pronounc,
OF Sir Toby's was n passion for literatu
and for plays Of n sensational and bloc
curdling description. He reveled in pc
ny dreadfuls and in soul moving mel
drama; he delighted in complicated plo
of missing heirs, forged wills. mystcrio
murders and buried treasure. There W
reason to suppose that many Of his stroI
boxes. which presumably contained tit
deeds and ancient leases, were in reali
stuffed with rejected manuscripts NJ
stillborn dramas, declined with thanks
Sir Toby was firmly impressed wi
the idea that had his station and duti
been otherwise he would have made
fortune as detective. and nnthil
pleased him 50 much rs endeayoring
discover the identity of an undetect
murderer or the motive for mysterio
disappearance. Whenever such an eve
occurred. which was pretty often,
Toby used to indiet long epistles to 7
Times. setting forth his theories.
1t was one day in early spring tina
great idea occurred to Sir Toby Bunsk
He felt in peculiarly nisanthrol
L. haR uV.
him, and uncle and nephew had &C
trived to quarrel even more serious
thnn usual Moreover. there had be
published certain damaging facts in &C
nection with one or two charitable ms
tutions 70 which Sir Toby had intend
to leave the greater part Of his fortur
and he began TO think that even Ja
might not put his money to "A mu
worse Use than pack Of oyerpaid, gree'
officials. Ii was in this humor that
had taken mp n newspaper aud stndi
the strange disappearance Of Mr.. Jah
Brown an eminent Mndford mercha
and millionaire. who had vanished fro
mortal ken in the most unexpected ma
ner and without the slightest appare
reason
The amateur detective was strong
Sir Toby. n usual, and he fell 10 musii
over the fate of Mr.. Brown, and
evolving all manner of theories whit
might account for his singular absenc
tie WAS rich. eminently respectable. al
universally looked mp to in the CONNIE
cial world. An examination of his affal
had proved beyond doubt that no fina
cial embarrassment existed Then
was n moral man. and there was no 81
picion that he had eloped with somebot
else's wife. or, indeed that lady was
any way connected with the case. I
was perfectly sane and in good healt
and no conceivable reason could be IL
agined for suicide.
"He may have been murdered,
course" thought Sir Toby; but this s
luton seemed commonplace-"the m;
be woman in the case. Begad. b
lieve he is alive, at any rate. He ms
have disappeared out of pure caprice
found his responsibilities too troubl
some: or perhaps he wanted to spi
somebody" This last notion seemed
interest Sir Toby-it was really origin
TINT man should disappear for such
motive. lie pondered deeply for sever
minutes, and then he said to himsel