The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1895-12-19

O1on - 0Ofudn IN set GRAFTON brought
all his splendid eloquence into play the
cause was won.
Great hearted O'Gorman had helped
TINS lame dog over the stile, but the
dogs heart was not in the right place.
and, as my reader will see in the Sc
quel, he soon went lame again.
In the rear room of somewhat lux
urlous range of offices in building on
Broadway facing the city hall four
men were engaged in discussing what
was evidently an exciting topic The
door OF the main Office bore the sign,
:" Edwin James, Counselor at Law and
Register In Bankruptcy. He was one
OF the four. He had failed lamentably
IN his efforts to secure practice. The
effects Of O'Gorman's eloquence had in
the gray light Of commonplace day faded
away, the more so when the ideal his
magic had created in the minds of men
was in hourly contrast with the man
himself and his history His profession
al brethren looked upon him with sus-
picion, and there was general impress
sion abroad that his escapades were not
over yet
Brea, with keen eye to business,
had married the discarded daughter Of
a wealthy but not overrespectable New
York family, and he had, unsupported,
pulled the wires so that James had been
employed as the family lawyer, and in
that capacity had drawn the will of the
mother. She was an imperious, hot tenn
pered body, one who when aroused was
accustomed to use language more vigor-
GUS than polite, and who not infre-
quently went to fisticuffs with her
daughters. The husband and father, the
creator Of the fortune, was dead, and
the vast family property, in securities,
stocks and lands, was vested absolutely
in the mother. In the old lady will
Brea's wife, the second daughter Of the
house (there were no sons), was down
in the very first paragraph for the mag
nifcent sum of '$1 lawful currency,
and her name nowhere else appeared in
the lengthy document. The old lady
was such a termagant and so implacable
in her hatred that it was moral Ger
tainty she would never relent and
change her purpose toward her daughter.
But James had also drawn up second
will of his own and Brea's concoction,
and a precious piece Of villainy it was,
in which the wife was down for lega-
cies amounting to $75O,OOO The genu-
inc will James kept in his own posses
sion, ready to destroy the very moment
word came that the old lady was an i'm
mortal, while the spurious will was
kept in the vaults Of the Safety Deposit
company, there to remain until the
death of the testatrix, when, Of course,
it would in due time be produced.
But money must be had at once, for
Brea and James We're in sore straits,
particularly James, WHO had been
threatened with arrest and was so far
involved that he always entered and left
his house at night in order to escape i'm
Fortunate creditors. This was James
second interview with the men and the
first time he had been alone with them.
He saw at once that he had to do with
able, clear headed men, took them into
his confidence and in order to. excite
their hopes and bind them to him as
we'll he confded to them the plot of the
forged will, producing the genuine for
their inspection.
He assured them that it was sure
and speedy fortune, as the lady was old
and frail i'll health, and he also prom
ised they should share between them
100000 provided they would stand by
to give hand in the somewhat i'm
probable event Of the other heirs disput-
ing the will, but above all if they would
devise some means to furnish him at
once $40, 900, or at least 5000. Money
he must have, and he could no longer
do without it.
The result Of our conference in James
office was that the very next day an
office down town was engaged under q
fictitious name and simple, unsuspi
cious fellow hired as porter and messen-
ger. After some little negotiation he OBJ
tanned particulars Of parties banking
with the then great firm Of Jay Cooke
& Co., corner of Wall and Nassau
streets. Briefly told, the result was that
four days later messenger walked into
their banking house with a check for
$4,000, purporting to be signed by an
other firm, who banked with them.
Along with the check went letter bear
ing a signature we'll known to the cash
Ter, asking him to pay the check to bear
er, the result Of all being that five
minutes thereafter we were walking un-
concernedly up Broadway, and sending.
message to James to meet us at Del
monico's, corner Broadway and Cham
bers street, we sat down awaiting his
arrival He had anxiously been looking
Tor news, and almost before we had
seated ourselves he entered, eager and
anxious looking, but when he glanced
at our faces happy expression came
over his own and without word he
put out his hand. After warm greet
ing produced the roll, and, to his de-
Light, I handed over to James ten five
hundreds. On the morrow went to the
Office, and paying my messenger weeks
wages, besides making small gift,
told him he need not come any more.
With this $4,000 coup we fondly