El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-04-28
THE
MISSING WILL

brothers wife, Mrs. Chester Cannon,
and her daughter, Clara Cannon, in fee
simple forever etc. Thus read Lawyer
Burton in his deep, rich voice.
The assembled company gasped, most
ly with surprise. and some with anger.
Mrs. Cannon and her daughter. however,
attired in the richest, heaviest mourning
costumes, applied their black bordered
handkerchiefs daintily to their eyes to
hide the joy that shone therein. In all
the company there was no one more sur
priSed at the StrangenesS of the will
than the young lawyer himself, but he
prudently kept silence and watched the
newly made heirs keenly.
When the reading of the document had
ended, there was much comment on the
injustice of the will. and the party gath
cred round tall. slight girl with golden
hair and pale. sweet face. and urged her
to contest it. She. however, merely shook
her head, and, advancing to Mrs. Gan
non and her daughter, congratulated
them on their good fortune. Then she
slipped from the room amid the confu
sion and found herself face to face with
her fiance, Lawyer Burton.
Marion he said, there is some mis-
take here. Your grandfather drew up
a will leaving all to you only fortnight
ago six months after this other will was
made. l have a copy of that will, but we
must ind the original. l am sure he did
not destroy it Will you look through
his papers and in his library?''
Yes she said YEARLY. pushing back
the bright hair from her white brow, but
eluding his embrace. Il will make the
search. but l have no hope of finding it,.
And she slowly climbed the stairs.
Frank BurtOn's heart was wrung as he
saw her ascend. He remembered her two
years before, young girl in short frocks
and face that seemed to reflect the
sunshine and was all laughter and happi
ness. Her grandfather in a fit of anger
at n story concocted by the clever Mrs.
Cannon drew up a will cutting off his
grandchild with $500 and leaving the
bulk of his property to his brothers wife
and child. Later, however when the old
man became i'll, Marion was sent for,
and she nursed him untiringly. at the
same time carrying on the management
of his large house, and the anger died in
his heart. Sending for Jung Burton,
he drew up a new WILL revoking the first,
and leaving all to his dearly beloved
grandchild.
After the old mans death, however, it
was impossible to find any will but the
first one, and by that they had to abide.
Almost Immediately Mrs. Chester Can
non removed to her new home, and it
was evident from the first that Marion's
presence was undesira BILE except in the
of head housekeeper.
But Marion was not idle. She dill
gently went through her grandfather's
papers for the missing will, but to no
avail. She searched the library with SIM
liar success, and at last wrote to Frank
Burton and told him of her fruitless
search.
Mrs. Cannon goes away tomorrow for
two days" she wrote. Gould you not
come up and look yourself? You are so
much more clever than II
Burton smiled at this little naive state
ment and acquiesced to her suggestion.
At the next afternoon he entered the
homestead of his former client and found
Miss Hitler awaiting him. The young
man thought he had never seen her look
ing so beautiful. The dead black of her
gown seemed only to bring out more
plainly the brightness of her hair and the
exquisite tints of her complexion. A lit
tie color had crept into her cheeks, and
the shadows beneath her violet eyes only
served to enhance their beauty.
For two hours he searched. tapping the
panels for secret hiding places, and on
the lookout for secret closets and draw
ers, but like Marion, he was unsuccess-
full. He felt sure that the Gannons had
to do with the disappearance
tive that they would not actually destroy
the will
Frank, will you grant me a favor|'
asked Marion at this point.
"Of course, dear; with all my heart
he said.
For an answer Marion held out her
ring to him. Her face was
white, but her eyes were steady and her
mouth determined. The young man look
ha 1usn in har
rosy palms and then at the girls pale
face.
you mean he began.
Eyes, yes,'' she said hurriedly: ''let
Us end it all. l would only be a trouble
to you in your profession now that am
penniless."
The young lawyer turned and took her
sad little face between his palms and
said:
Marion, you do not love me; is it SOP"
mot love your she repeated with 4
quick blush and a reproachful glance.
you know my heart
II fear / do not" he said eff you can
thus easily break our engagement. No.
lear. will not release you. 1 want you.
and not your thousands" And he would
have kissed her but that she turned
away.
mo, nor she cried. 81 will not hinder
your rapid rise in the profession. and if
were your-if 1 did not give you up L
should be a hindrance to you And she
pressed the ring into his unwilling hand.
In sudden anger he threw it far from
him, and it fell into the fireplace, where
he fire was ready for the match.
"Oh, Frank My pretty ringv' cried
Marion, and in a moment she was seach-
ng among the logs and paper for her
ing.
Suddenly Burton heard a glad cry and,
urning, saw Marion, with crimson
.heeks and cleaning eyes, glancing
quickly through the missing will. Bur
on made sure it was the original will