The Winslow mail., 1899-11-16
Gotridge's Will
BY E. A. Halliday.
lhTARRAR, we have been commits

Il IL,
stoned to raise the Sunfower,
SO you must take Waters and Burke
aboard the tug and set sail. Go down
as soon as you arrive at the place where
she sank and make a report as to what
will be required. Send it on to me and
then await further instructions"
So spake the manager of the salvage
company to which L had been foreman
diver for many years. The Sunfiower
was twin-screw steamer of about 1000
tons, and she had traded between Lon
don and Valparaiso before she struck
a rock in the channel and went down
with nearly all her passengers and
crew. The owners thought she would
be worth bringing to the surface again
and, having given our company the job,
/, as usual, was deputed to make the
preparatory descents.
Having sent the two men on board
the tug with all my tacl<ling, the same
night l attempted to follow, but in
the maze of streets and alleys l got
lost, and after several futile attempts
to find the way / went to a ramshackle
dwelling in order to ask. But as |
was descending the stone stairs leading
to the basement angry voices smote
upon my ears. Involuntarily | stopped
and listened.
'I'll have money-me, yer mother,
an not a penny to go on with" a
woman was shouting. eyer bonny
sort O. son to ave! Goes 'obnobbing
with the ighby-skies and never gies
is mother bloomin' quid!"
II tell you I'm broke at present" ex-
postulated a man. Cant you believe
me? Wait till the 25th-it's only a
week hence-and L shall be worth
6 100000! L won't forget my own
mother them"
"Yer would if yer dared-but yer
daren'tl" replied the woman, in calm
er tones. ''No, Bryan-that's yer own
name, an yer needn't be ashamed of
it'll let yer know yer ave mother
when yer comes into the brass! But
yer never told me 'ow yer worked the
camel"
"Well, I'll tell you now, but can't
afford TO take long about it, said the
man, hurriedly. Il ingratiated myself
into the rich old fools affections to a
certain extent, but his own son nat
urally had the preference. Still, he was
a wild young beggar, and after half
turning his father against him by get
ting sent down from Oxford, he came
home supposedly repentant.
HE hadn't been at home week be-
fore he fell desperately in love with
the village parsons daughter, and
when he told his father about it-well.
I've never seen row to equal the one
that ensued. He was kicked out of the
house-by me, at his fathers request
and ordered never to darken the door
again. He swore he wouldn't, and
within week he married the girl and
went to live in Birmingham, earning
his own living there as a clerk.
This was my opportunity, for 1 de-
termined that father and son should
remain at variance for ever. of course
to my own benefit. 1t does not need
a detailed account of how / got the
old man to make will in my favor,
nor as to how l found out that he made
another in favor of his son just be-
fore he died in Valparaiso. Suffice it
to say that this was the case. This
last will was being brought to Eng
land by the man to whom it had been
intrusted, when the ship sank and he
and the will went to the bottom Of
the sea. Rather unlucky for the son,
eh? But very lucky for me.
''The son had an idea that his IA
ther had made later will than the one
/ produced and sought to restrain me
from entering into the property But
the Judge declared that if he could not
produce the will by the 25th l was to do
so. Now, l don't think he is aware that
the will is at the bottom of the sea
but there's no telling how soon the
detectives he is employing will ferret
it out"
Eyer ave rare cad on yer shoul-
ders," the old woman said, but the
words were spoken so family that ]
scarcely heard them, and l left the
doorway without asking the question
1 had intended.
Soon after, | came across Il lad who
piloted me to the tug, and went aboard
just before she was swung out of the
dock. The captain told me as WE
dropped down the river that my mer
were both drunk, and. extremely an.
noyed, / went into the cabin to see
them.
Five thousand pounds-fve thou
sand pounds!" said one, with drunken
gravity. Good reward-hic.-fol
finding "a will-old Gotridge's will
what do you say, guv'nor?
What are you talking about?"
said. sharply.
saint you heard?" continued Wa
ters, leering at me. "Ain't you seen tht
advertisement for---for missing will;
Ha, ha!" and the man jingled few
coppers in his pocket. when IL fnt