The Press., 1893-01-26
THE MINERS QUEER WILL


 Fhe other day we met on Kearney street an old-time Washoe acquaintance called Jlm Briggs, whose usually well-worn miners apparel was on this occasion re- placed by gorgeous display of velvet vest, check pants, red scarf and ponder tous watch chain, while his honest and simple face shone above these evidences of prosperity with the placid contentment | of full harvest moon.
 Hello, Jem," we said; "glad to see yoa looking so prosperous. Must have struck it rich recently" "So have," said Jem, and then, as his tanned face saddened a little, he contin- ned, "but l had mighty tough loss, though My partner, Ned Bfmber-you remember Ned-has gone up the shaft.n "Dead, eh ?"
 "4es. I'll tell you how it was. You see, Ned and I had a quarrel about two tyears ago. Don't matter what it was about. Mebbe Ned was wrong and meb- be was, but, all the same, neither of us would back down-coupler dam fools, you'll say, and so we were-and the up- shot was that we parted and agreed never to speak to each other again."
 tAnd didn't you?"
 "No, sir; more shame for us, for we had been pards, thick and thin, for fifteen years together. We'll, about six months l after that Ned got good gravel claim up on the feather, where they had been turn ing the river bed and he struck it rich cleared up nigh onto $25O, ,OOO in ten months"
 And how were you getting on?"
 "Oh, clean broke. Working up at Gold Hill fer $3 day. Well. I was kinder sneaking glad to learn of Ned's luck, for all we were outs; but the next thing heard was that he had been killed by the banks caving in on him. He lived Just long enough to make his will. We'll, the lawyer wrote us how Ned was worth just about $2O0,000, and the will gave $5,O0O apiece to each of the three distant cousins of his'n-they had all come out from the eastw when they heard of Ned's find and the sameamount to me, mind YOU, just as though we had not quarreled. But Ned alters was Centric sort of & cuss, and the will provided that none of us should get the money if we attended the funeral. He didn't want anybody at the funeral but just the undertaken. The will said he had lived lonely, and he want ed to be buried lonely. Them's just the words-and I felt they were intended for me, sure. The disposition of the rest of the estate-about $20O, ,OOO-was provided Tor Tn another codicil, to be opened the oay after the funeral, but we all supposed It was donated to some charitable object, for Ned hadn't any kin, 'cepting the cousins"
 "Of course you stayed away from the funeral?"
 That's just the point. Somehow felt so miserable and wn-hearted-yous see, Ned was the loneliest partner I ever had that l determined to go and see him sent down on his last cage, anyway-mon- " oA 'AAo hAoAOy, duu u1u.
 And the ceusins?n
 "None of 'em went. Fact is, they were so disgusted with the 'diyy' that they cleared out down to Frisco to see about breaking up the will. So was the only mourner at the funeral. My friends all thought was fit for the crazy house to throw away the $5,OOO like that. We'll. I just couldn't help it. It turned out, tho. to be the best lead ever struck"
 "How was that ?"
 "Why, the next day when the main will was opened, we found it really gave the entire balance of the clean up to whichever of us four disoheyed the condi- ton of the 5000 bequest. So you see I came in for the whole lump just like a knife. And do you know" continued the legatee, as he hastily steered us into saloon to conceal the gathering moisture in his eye, ''as sure as a guns iron shall alters believe that Ned put up the whole !ob purpose-'cause he knowed I'd be thar. "-SGn Francisco Eganasaae7.. A great cure for cough.-Mrs. A. K.