Middletown transcript., 1898-02-19

U Al W ring again, when
the door opened
and be stepped quickly in, while Q
graceful form receded timidly before
him. A pair of moist, dark eyes and q
troubled face were averted from his,
and there was husky tremor 10 the
voice which said to him:
"You mustn't come in, JEFF. y
Madeleine, he bluntly exclaimed,
"what does this mean?o
"Mr. Laphaml Steve Lapham!"
"Old Jacob Lapham's only your
stepfather. He has no authority over
you. His son is a fraudl Your
mother
"Oh, JEFF, dearl that is the troubled
They have made her forbid me to speak
to you'll l cannot disobey herl She is
dying! They have almost made her
make me promise. oh, JEFF, dear. I'm
almost crazyl"
II should say you we're, " he growled,
with fierce light dancing across his
face. "It was time for me to come.
Is your mother really so lowp"
''She may last many days yet; per-
haps not twenty-four hours. Stephen
Lapham isn't there, but bis father
doesn't leave her for minute. I've
no chance to see her alone. She COM
manded me not to speak to you."
mo, she didn't" said JEFF. "She
only repeated something after old Jake
Lapham. What she was forced to say
was no command of hers. Do be
reasonable. She has no right to do
it, anyhow; and she really didn't do
1t. Old Jake did. As for Steve, the
young-o
"Don't I know what he is?o. said
Madeleine, hysterically. "Didn't |
hear what hisfather said to him? They
didn't know heard-o
"What did they say?" demanded
JEFF, as she hesitated, and he closed
the door behind him and led her into
the parlor as he added: "What did
you hear2 Tell me the whole Of it,
"Oh, jeff, dear" said Madeleine,
"Mr. Lapham said to Steve that as
soon as mother died they would record
all the deeds, before proving the will,
and then they would own every dollar
Of the property. He said they could
make me do what they pleased then."
"What deeds?" he asked. in firm
but unexcited way, that seemed to
help her.
"Deeds that mother made," she
said. "Deeds and things that give
them everything there is to give"
"Did you ever sign any papers your
self?" asked JEFF. tShe couldn't do
it alone"
Il don't know what they were," re-
piled Madeleine. 81 signed every
paper they had on the table, the night
they said she would die before morn
ing.n
"When was that?" he asked.
"More than a month ago." she said;
land they put them all into the safe
in the library"
II know where it is," said jeff.
''It's your own safe now. 1t opens
with combination lock. You know
the numbers, Of course, and how to
open it?"
"No, I don't,o she replied despair
ingly. II never knew how to open it,
I don't know the numbers, and + can't
tell you. They've kept them a secret.
Mother said once.that it was the Dec
laration Of Independence and the days
of the week"
"Ohp' exclaimed jeff, with almost
q laugh; ''that's riddle. Is anybody
in the library now?"
"No," said Madeleine. Nobody
goes there"
Jeff's face was angry and stormy, in
spite Of his calm, reassuring manner,
as he strobe to the library-door and
opened it. The room had chilly,
deserted look, and its CRATE was empty.
A fireproof safe, of medium size, stood
In one corner, and in an instant the
young man was kneeling before it.
"This is your safe. Madeleine Lane"
be said. sMay open it?"
"You may, but you can't" she re-
piled; but his hand was on the knob
Of the safe-lock, and her cheeks burned
with feverish excitement as she
watched the quick, though careful,
turns OF his wrist.
"Twice this way" she counted.
"Three times that way. Once around
agai1-or was it twiceP'
Just then she heard a faint click,
and she saw the door of the safe swing
wide open. 1t was as if feat Of
necromancy had been performed be-
fore her eyes. Those of JEFF were
searching the intetior of the safe.
"Here they arel'' he exclaimed as
he pulled out Of pigeon-hole pack
age of long-folded, legsl-looking doeu-
ments, and rose to his feet. "Please
examine them with me, Madeleine"
"This first lot" he said, turning
them over. ssare all deeds. of one sort
or another, to your own father, two or
three to your mothers which they
owned their entire property. All Of
them are recorded. We have nothing
to do with them. I'll put them back.
Therei Now, Madeleine, just look at
theseI AL OF them new deeds. You
and your mother to Jacob Lapham.
You and she did actually sign them
all.n
] II didn't know what / was signing,"