Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1902-01-29
SIMON GILBERT'S WILL
By William Wendham.
(oopyrght, IsOi, by AuthOrs syndio.ss.J

| HAD my own idea of a detective
 until I met Daniel Draper. After my first contact with him I had no further notions regarding the proposition. I was a young law yer, just established in practice as | junior partner in a firm with big income. I was at the crit ical point in a most puzzling case-a terested. It was not the amount in Eolved, but rather the unaccountable injustice that seemed to have been committed that attracted my interest. Phoebe Parker was the niece of Simon Gilbert. He had lived with his books and his daughters un- til Julia, the elder, took it into her head to marry Richard Rad cliffe, the broker, and at the same time Fanny, the younger, fell in love with Tom Belden. Then the old man declared himself. He did not propose to be left alone in his age nor to be- come mixed up with other families. If OhC UT OOln Ol HIS on marrying, well and good. He would not be unfair. He would give them a dower-as much as he could spare. The balance of his fortune, at his death, would go to some person who would live with him and make him comfort able. The daughters were determined and married. and true to his promise Simon Gilbert gave each of them s5,00O and never entered their houses. He hunted up niece, Phoebe Parker, and told her if she would take care of him while he lived and not marry he would treat her like daughter and will her all he had. This amounted to some thing like s15,OoO.
 Phoebe had taken the offer after some thought arS Slany tears. She was an orphan without a cent and in love with Jack Shirley. But Jack had his crippled father and invalid mother to support and it was out of the ques- ton for him to think of marrying while they were alive-unless he could buy an interest in the business, and that would cost ten or twelve thousand dollars. So she had gone into the grim and gloomy house of Simon Gilbert and there she had worked q and wept, trying to make the old man comfortable and pining for kind word-and for Jack, with whom things did not improve. Simon Gilbert went to his lawyer, who was the head of our firm, and had his will drawn, leaving everything to Phoebe.
 But after the death of Gilbert what was the surprise of every person who knew the circumstances when another will was found. dated six months be- fore his death, in which the estate was left to his two daughters. and Phoebe Parker was not so much as mentioned. My partner had drawn the will, giving the property to the niece, but he could not question the latter document, forit was most certainly signed in Gilbert's handwriting. Of that my partner was sure; he knew the signature we'll. He was equally sure that the old man had intended to deal honestly and justly with his niece, and on the girl's behalf uC udu dShCh AO ApOh III AO AAlC mat ter and see if there was not a way to fight the later will. I was absolutely baffled ss to line upon which to base fight. I was relating the circum- stances to friend of mine, a reporter, when he suggested that I call in Daniel Draper and talk the matter over with him.
 Daniel Draper-not that crazy, shiftless son of old Draper, the black smith?"
 ''The same" replied the reporter And don't bet too much on his being crazy. He has helped me out of many a hole when have had an assignment l couldn't land. You know he is ann bilious to become a detective"
 The upshot of it was that my friend, the reporter. brought Daniel Draper to see me and I laid the case before him. He was a loose-jointed, round shouldered young fellow with a shock of tow colored hair covering rather a well-shaped head. His features were not attractive and no two of them seemed to match. His mouth wore a half-conciliatory, half-apologetic ex- precision and his eyes were dull and listless and seemed to only half see the objects upon which they fixed themselves.
 He asked a lot of questions, having apparently no relation to each other, and many of them seeming to have lit- tie or no bearing on the case. Then he inquired abruptly if he could see the will. We went to the courthouse and looked al the document. Draper gazed blankly at it sideways and upside down and turned it over and looked at