Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-10-12

Tue NsiSt IsuAAiy phopOits. III seCuTltleS,
stocks and lands. was vested absolutely
in the mother. In the old lady's 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 ''S1 lawful currency
and her name nowhere else appeared in
the lengthy document. The old lady
was such termagant and SO implacable
in her hatred that it was q 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 tho wife was down for lega-
cies AZ uniting to $3.50, 900. The genr-
inc will James kept in his own possess
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 were 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
well no confided to them the plot of the
forged will, producing the genuine for
their inspection.
He assured them that it was a sure
and speedy fortune, as the lady was old
and frail in health, and he also prom
ised they should share between them
800, 600, provided they would stand by
to give alhand in the somewhat i'm
probable event Of the other heirs disput-
ing thu will, but above all if they would
devise some means to furnish him at
once $40, ZOO, or at least 200. 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 a
fictitious name and simple, unsuspi
cious follow 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 messens ger walked into
their banking house with a check for
SEQ, coo, purporting to be signed by an
other firm, who banked with them.
Along With the check went letter bear
ing signature well known to the CASH
Ter, asking him to pay the check to bear
er, the result of all being that five
minutes thereafter we We're walking I'M
concernedly up Broadway, and sending
= message to James to meet us at Del
menico's, corner Broadway and Cham
bers street, we sat down. awaiting his
arrival. He had anxiously been looking
for news, and almost before we had
seated ourselves he entered, eager and
anxious looking, but when he glanced
at our faces a happy expression came
over his own and without q word he
put ont 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 week S
wages, besides making a small gift,
told him he need not come any more.
With this 100000 coup we fondly
thought all our troubles and all our I'M
lawful acts were ended. We now had a
few thousands, sufficient to last until
the So. 900 we had invested in the will
case should bring i'll q dividend that
would mean fortune for us all. So we
took things easy about town, and alto
gether thought ourselves pretty good
fellows and this world very good sort
of place t. be in.
Thus the winter passed by and the
summer was at hand. Our thousands of
the year before had dwindled to hun
dreds, ard the old lady whose heirs we
had constituted ourselves seemed to have
renewed her youth and threatened to
outlivo us all.
Besides this there had grown up a
All Jul w thV Dus'i
ness, and when one day my friend Mac
remarked it was a scoundrelly business
to rob the heirs of an estate, and they
women, George and 1 heartily acqui.
esced, and we vowed we would take nc
part in the matter and then and there
resolved we would throw both James
and Brea over, but first to use Brea and
James for our own purposes. Once more
we found ourselves planning a coup il
Wall street. Talking the matter over
we three soon had a plan, and being
! lowered with intense energy it prom
ised q successful determination. Auda
ciously enough we determined the light.
| ming should strike once more in the
same place-that is, to make Jay Cooke
& Co. again the victims. Irving and hi!
! honest fellows We're to cooperate by
watching everything. and if any ares
threatened to be on hand to make i
themselves and then let the prisoner es
cape. Most important of all, when thu
bankers drove up in hot haste to polic'
headquarters to give Information, James
| honest James, would be on hand to re
| ceiye him. would call in his two trustie