The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-05-16
THE LOST WILL.

Elsie blushed with glad surprise at tho
sight of him, and indeed he was not un-
pleasing to look at with his fine form, good
features and dark eyes and hair. She did
not know that under this fair exterior was
hidden cold calculating nature and
loved him for what he seemed
Come into the garden, dear" he said
coaxingly. 1T is pleasant out here, and
want to talk to you"
SIT does look inviting" she said rising
"But you must not ask me to stay long,
Frank, for 1 ought to go back to Aunt
Martha now. / left her with Jane and
came down for a breath of the fresh morn
ing air"
You look tired, you poor little daisy.
suppose you have been up all night, as
usual. You will wear yourself out. 1
must assert my authority and insist that
some one else shall take care of Aunt Mar
tina part Of the time. I'm not going to
stand quietly by and see my darling sacri-
flee herself to any one, " said the young
lawyer in his masterful way
You make the case out a great deal
worse than it is, Elsie said, with laugh
Il have some sleep every night and am
only a little tired. Aunt Martha would so
much rather have me with her than any
one else She is little-only little
peculiar, you know. She has done so much
for me that am glad to make some slight
return for her kindness, for have no real
claim upon her"
''Why not? You arc her niece are you
notf" he said quickly.
why, mol l supposed you knew all
about it. My mother was Aunt Martha's
dearest friend, and dying when l was 2
years old left me to her care She has been
mother to me all these years"
And do you mean to say you are not
related to her at all?' asked Gilbert, with
half frown.
Not even distantly. You look vexed
Frank. Surely you do not care, dear2 l
would have told you this before If had
considered it of any Importance
II am not vexed, Elsie, only n little sur
prised. Has Aunt Martha any relatives
living2"
"Only cousin, Mrs. wilkins, who
lives about 20 miles from Alton. They
haven't been on speaking terms for years
mover saw the woman, but from what
Aunt Martha says she must bel
What Aunt Martha's opinion was re-
manned untold, for Jane came rushing out
to them, crying:
Miss Elsie Miss Elsiel Do hurryi
Your aunt's took ever so much worse
She's rollin up her eyes and tryin to say
solnethin and can't speak a plain word.
It's awfuli'
She found her aunt gasping for breath,
with look on her face which told even
the inexperienced Elsie that she was al
ready in tho grasp of tho grim destroyer.
The girl sank on her knees by the bed sob
bing bitterly.
Aunt Martha seemed to be struggling
to speak, and looking eagerly at the old
fashioned writing desk which stood upon
table near her managed to articulate
the words:
Keep keepl'
"0f course l shall. always keep it,"
sobbed Elsie. DO not worry about that,
dear
Aunt Martha seemed partly relieved
She ceased struggling to speak. Mrs.
Brainerd came in and was soon followed
by the physician. 1t was evident that
nothing could BIO done, however. Aunt
Martha's minutes on earth were number
ed.
Tho room was quiet now, save for Elsies
sobs, which she yainly tried to repress.
The dying woman had sunk into insunsi-
bility, and they hardly knew the exact
moment when she ceased to breathe. Mrs.
Brainerd gently led the weeping girl from
tho room, and being as wise as she was
kind did not try to comfort her with
words. Young Gilbert remained in the
house and came forward with sympathy
and offers of assistance.
Poor Elsie! Tho blow was so sudden,
SO unexpected, that she was almost crush.
ed.
'swhat should I do" she thought ..if it
were not for Frank He is so good, so
thoughtful l wish were worthy of him 3"
She sent note to Mrs Wilkins, inform.
ing her of her cousins death and or the
day appointed for the funeral. No notice
was taken of this, which surprised no one
At the grave Frank Gilbert supported
Elsie with facc indicative of the deepest
sorrow, but with a gladness ut heart which
belied it. He had learned from Lawyer
Bentley Of n will in Elsies favor securing
her Aunt Martha's pretty cottage, with
its ample grounds and $4,000 in govern.
ment bonds.
"Quitc comfortable little property"
he thought eGmplacently. As soon as l
can induce Elsie to name our wedding day
we can settle down here very cozily. That
story of hers worried me a little, for If the
old lady had neglected to make will l
could hardly be expected to burden myself
with portionless wife. Elsie is a sweet
girl, and it would be hard to give her up,
but a man must look out for the main
chance However, it's all right, and Tin
glad OF it.
But if Frank Gilbert IS sympathy was al
outward show there was another man
whose heart was filled with sincere pity
and hopeless love for Elsie. Poor Hugh
Clifford He had loved the girl ever since
he WINS her champion Mt school. If Frank
Gilbert had not appeared upon the scene
with his handsome face and polished man
ners, Elsie would have accepted Hugh
xxybo bp asI-a bnr I,,, 4, A.;
was, she refused him gently, but decidedly.
Aunt Martha, who was Hugh,s conf
dant, sympathized with him.
And now the funeral was over and search
began for tho will. To the surprise of all,
1t was not to be found Lawyer Bentley
and his partner assisted i'll the search, and
you may we'll believe that Gilbert at least
searched faithfully, but all to no avail
Everything that could afford n hiding place
for the missing document was carefully ex-
ainined, especially the writing desk that
Aunt Martha had seemed SO anxio is about
just before her death.
Lawyer Bentley remembered perfectly
the circumstances of drawing up the will,
but was Obliged to believe thnt for some
unknown reason Aunt Martha had de-
stroyed it and neglected to make another.
If it were any one but Mrs. wilkins, +"
Elsie thought Il could bear it better, but
1t really seems as il auntie couldn' trest in
her grave with that woman in possession
of her house. l have Frank left, and al.
though we shall be poor at first will try
my best to make him happy"
Mr.. and Mrs. wilkins did not long re-
main in ignorance of the fact that no will
was to be found and came to Alton in
great triumph. Elsie, who had not yet left
her old home received them with quiet
dignity. Mrs. Wilkins announced her in.
tention of moving over and taking pos
session of tho house that week