The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-08-07

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and one afternoon he betook himself to
the gentleman's office.
81 have" he said, when greetings had
been exchanged, "coRe on rather deli
cate business. / needn't tell you that
what 1 am going to say is in confidence"
"Quite so,' said Orkney, drawing out
the ends of his mustache.
'The fact is, things aren't going we'll
with me. 1 am deadly tired of it all,
and er-it sounds curious statement
l am anxious to make away with my
SELF
The lawyer was only SO, and he start
cd. Professional calm reasserted it
self moment later, however, and he
echoetd Georges last words in meas
ured tones:
'To make away with yourself? o,
nonsense!"
Il am," replied Collier, "but my life
isn't assured. You see the difficulty?
am bound to think of my wife and
child, and they would be practically
penniless,"
Assure it," suggested Mr.. Horace
Orkney, with q shrug, ''if you are de-
ter1nined But, my dear Collier, do
let me dissuade you from entertaining
such a-such a-really, you know!" He
chief and shook it out daintily, diffus-
ing an agreeable odor of white rose
"You distress mo much.n
Il won't trouble you with my argu-
ments," responded Collier; 81 haven't
come to discuss the pros and cons, or
to waste your time. My mind is made
up, and I know my own mind better
than anybody else can tell it to me,
You say: Assure it, the point Is that
l am unable to do so, because can't
put my hands on the money"
"Oh?" said Orkney. 1.-The premiumf
aren't heavy" he added, after pause
"How much did you think of assuring
for?"
"While 1 am about 1t want to make
an adequate provision; I want to ar
range so that there shall be On income
of. say, four or five hundred per annum
/ know what the premium would be OF
an amount to yield that from a safe In
vestment, and 1 should pay it for a year
down!-it would be better. reckon
it 6 32O. Now, my idea was"
"Was-what?" asked the solicitor
blandly, as he hesitated.
George was little nervous His
gaze wandered.
"My idea was that you might be
willing to advance me the sum, to be re-
payable with interest at my death. /
am eager to make the proposal as at
tractive as 1 can. Advance me C 32o
and I'll have will drawn up at onca,
and leave you q thousand. How does it
strike you? I think myself It's very
fair"
Horace Orkney tapped his fingers to-
gether pensively.
"A company contests the claim in n
case of suspected suicide" he said;
"you are overlooking that"
II am overlooking nothing. have
thought it all out, and know exactly
what shall do. A cousin of my wife
has O cottage in Kent, on the Darenth.
We have often staid there The lawn
slopes to the rivers edge, and there Is
an Indian canoe No more solitary
place, especially after dusk, could ex-
ist- Now, can easily contrive so that
we get an invitation to go down for q
week. One evening, after working hard
all day, shall say am going out for a
breath of fresh air. shall ask what
time they are going to have supper, and
set my watch by their clock SO that
may not be late back. 1 shall beg my
%> nd 20 nf lot
ter have to write in the morning and
step out through the window in the
gayest of spirits. Well, the canoe up
sets. 1t Is known do not swim. Moth
ing could be simplerl"
"But your intentions may alter, my
friend And, If they do, have ad-
vanced you C 800, and where am /?
In the natural course Of events you may
live for.30 or 40 years to come"
"I thought" said Collier, "of watt
ing to put an end to my life till the
spring, SO as to avert any possibility of
a suspicious complexion. If you think
it judicious, the accident shall occur
next month";
There was another silence.
81 will consider" said Mr.. Orkney,
at length. "Now you must let me send
you away; I'm busy"
Having considered, he agreed. He
provided George Collier with the sum Of
800 pounds to take out policy, and
George made will by which Mr.. Horace
Orkney was bequathed $1,000. The
rest went to Eva, who, to give her her
due, was an affectionate mother.
The weary man was now compare
lively contented. In April he was to
die, and it was already November. To
make quite certain there should be no
hitch in the post mortem proceedings,
| it had been decided that he should wait
till April. He had had hopes that Ork-
ney would declare it was safe for him
to take the step earlier, but on reflection
the lawyer had pronounced it inadvis-
able, and said it would be wiser for him
to keep to the date he had originally
suggested.
1t was u disappointment, but George
was too grateful to complain of
crumpled roseleaf. He had borne the
sings and arrows so hopelessly that it
was pity if he could not contemplate
their continuance for five more months!
No, he was not unreasonable, and, as
first one week wore away and then an
other, his satisfaction increased. He
felt like an overworked man looking
forward to O long holiday.
| There was n Serious enideYnic Of In