Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-02-15
A Little Comedy Of Errors,
BY S. s. NORTON.

| quick d1Sdalntul nCtle gesture, U
| think, Mr.. North, that we should have
| failed to detect 80 fatal discrepancy
/ as thRt!"
cit is amazing" assented North dry
\ ly. Nor is this all. You SEQ, the fault
| lies primarily in that date. In the sec
ond place, one of the witnesses-let me
see, what was his name?' He threw
his head back reflectively, and the sharp,
gray eyes swept the frescoed ceiling for
| an instant.
"Was it NorriStown?" suggested Mrs.
Maynard, family, as she twined the
slender glittering links of her watch
| chain around her finger, in preoccu-
| pied way.
st was Norristown, thank YOU" The
| sharp gray eyes returned with the words
| to Mrs. Maynard's face. "Well, then,
it was shown conclusivcly that Norris
town died exactly ten days previous to
| the date of the will ian unqucStionable
| alibi, by the wayD which important
| fact, in the judgment of the court, rem
| dered all his subsequent proceedings
invalid, at least within that jurisdic-
| ton"
"Norristown is dcad?" echoed Mrs.
Maynard, with a quick change of color.
Then she added, in tone of tragical
despair:
Il perceive that you are right, Mr.
North shred by shred the unsubstan-
tlal fabric is going to tatters! What
| ncXt?"
Next" pursued North, with rather
incXplicablc smile, 1--WE come to the dis
closures made by the experts. The
whole affair, you see, has been merci-
lessly siftcd. Hunter and Ketchum are
| unrclenting."
"Unprincipled! Merccnary!" cried
| Mrs Maynard, with sudden little flash
| of resentment. 'All that they wish is
| to secure for themselves handsome fees
| from the estate"
| "Oh, possibly" returned North, with
indolcnt amusement. Nevertheless,
my dear Mrs. Maynard, whatever their
motive, the fact rrmains-they are re
| lcntlcsS. Up to this point the only evil
dence offered has been the ordinary
verbal and documentary sort; but now
to clin"h the previous testimony the OK
| pcrts are iutroduccll.'
| "EXpcrts?" repeated Mrs. Maynar4
in tone of vague speculation.
| eyes; chirographical experts, you
| know, to decide as to the gcnuincness
of the signatures. Submitting the
| document to the usual tests, in connec-
ton with Enthusiastically genuine speci-
mems of the handwriting of the attor-
ncy, the testatriX and the witnesses, the
experts unhcsitatingly sworc that the
will was n forgery from beginning to
end. Thus you sec, Mrs. Maynard, -
and here North leaned back in his chair
and folded his arms cOmposedly, half
closing his eyes to complete the effect
of n supertlcially Indifferent manner,
"thcy have made affairs extremely
awkward for us. Who knows, now,
for instance, who may be suspected of
having had Il hand in this business?
| Why, they may even honor me with
some such suspicion; there's no doubt
of the possibility!'
'Nlr. North
Mrs. Maynard had risen excitcdly,
and she was now pacing rcstlcssly to
and fro, her trailing dress sweeping
over the carpet in creamy folds. Her
delicate dark brows were contracted,
her expression was troubled, her tone
edged with asperity.
MIR. North! l must ask you not to
trifc. Affairs are far too serious for
that. Tell me, please, precisely how
we stand. This forgery having been
discovered, the will, of course, is set
aside. Does the matter end there, or is
it to be investigated?"
North was radiant.
THAT is clcvcriy to the point" he
declared to himself with admiring ap,
prevail then to Mrs. Maynard he re,
sponded guardedly:
''Oh, there will be an investigation
of course. The affair is quite too seri-
Gus, as you say-forgcry and conspira
cy, you know: state prison offcnsc, if
provcn-to be passed over. For this
reason" he added, with significant
glance at Mrs. Maynard 81 advise that
you take immediate action in the mat
ter"
81, Mr.. North?" she echoed, family,
as she paused and looked appealingly
at him.
He was leaning back languidly, the
very picture of graceful composurc
with his elbows resting on the arms O
his chair, and his delicately white hands
clasped idly, while he triflcd with thu
solitaire ring on his little finger. Ever
. in the midst of her troubled thought
Mrs Maynard's eye caught the fire an'
sparkle of the diamond. She had neve
noticed it before.
II, Mr.. North?" She repeated, will
vague caution; for in North's glanc
and manner there was something sub
tile, intangible, that placed her, sh
knew not why, Instantly upon he
= guard. And pray, why should NOV
in an Investigations"
North waited for moment to give
greater effect to his answer, while h
steadily returned Mrs. Maynards In
quiring gaze. Then with deliberat
emphasis he said:
why should you move in an invest
cation, Mrs. Maynard9 The reason
obvious; to clear yourself of all sus
!, picion of completely In this forgery"
She started, and her lips grew asher
"Do they suspect me?" Her ton
- was scarcely audiblei her breath cain
quickly in nervous, irregular gasps.
"How can tell, Mrs. Maynard
Whatever suspicious there may be
regard to this affair, they are safel
locked up thus far In the wise brains {
our opponents You and are nc