The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1903-04-17

1900 $500 eeA ma wv 0Au
gave the money up. But she was sur
prised TO find that she wasn't so lone
~ and unhappy as she had thought
she would be. When you give ul
something Of your wi accord, you
Feel q sense Of power, al Helen did
while the sky seemed to look blucr
the birds sing sweeter, ard peopie'l
faces 10 look more kind. Still there
were moments of despair and discour'
agement, when everything seemed Ia
be going wrong-when the household
debts would never get quite paid up
and her health never be quite what
she had hoped Now nice il would
be to be taken care of, as Wins wife
was. Or how nice il would be TO have
that 5000 anu be relieved OF petty
responsibilities, Those weak moods
quickly passed, however.
She was cashier and clerk at Mr.,
Burt's combination store" which
was really a city department store ON
a small scale.
One day, about two days after the
last of her "surrenders," as Helen
laughingly called them. a slender,
whitehead old man entered the
store. Helen was at her cashiers desk
making out bills. 1t was quite late,
on a cold, drizzly, fall afternoon. and
and no one else happened to be in at
the time. Helen glanced up OCCASION
ally, on the alert to see il q new GUS
toner came in, or IL she herself were
needed, and two or three times she
discovered the stranger watching her
quite %intently.
When he had gone, Mr.. Burt saun-
tered up TO her, and with a merry
twinkle in his eyes. said, miss Stock
well, that old gentleman came to es-
pecially inquire about you. lie said
his name was Lawrence, from Hope
dale. He didn't want to speak to you
himself, he said, but just wanted to
know all about you. So / told him
your general history. I shouldn't
wonder at all il he were a detective
in disguise, weaving a deadly chain
of evidence around you"
The winter that followed was a par
ticularly hard one for poor Helen.
mothers health was very poor,
and medicine and d~elicacies had to
be bought. When spring came she
grew no better. and the doctor said
that II she could go to the seaside for
a few weeks, he was sure she would
be greatly benefited. But that was
not to be thought of. Helen was
wearing quit shabby clothes in order
to pay the doctors bill and the rent
Of their four rooms.
In the latter part Of May, as Helen
about to start home one evening
about six o'clock, a tall, pleasant
faced young man appeared hurriedly
in the doorway and asked for Miss
Stockwell.
oh" he said. after Mr.. Burt had
made her known, respectfully salute
ing her, II see you are about 10 start
for home. L would like to walk along
with you II l may, as l have a COM
mission for you, i~ntrusted to me by
my grandfather"
Certainly" said Helen.
Only q few commonplace were
passed till they got off the main
then the young man said:
miss Stockwell, my grandfather
has recently died and has left me his
sole executor and heir of his modest
property, except two requests. One,
of $1,000, to the drink cure hospital
and sanitarium at L~ansingburg, and
the other Of $1,000 left to yourself,
check for which you will find in this
envelope" handing her the same from
his wallet.
Helen drew herself slightly away
the ~proffered gift and said ar
II am sure there must be
some mistake, sir. You have prob
ably come to the wrong person. am
sure | did 0 know your GRANDPA
He smiled. "Thcre is no mistake,
Miss Stockwell. My name is Gilbert
Lawrence. My grandfather saw you
last fall. lie went to the store to
see you, and Mr.. Burt told him all
about you"
"Oh," said Helen, "he was that old
gentleman who asked about me.
But / don't understand. There is no
reason why he should have left me
any thing"
"You remember that legacy Of
1900 which you refused some three
years ago?" he asked, still smiling.
"Of course l remember III" said
Helen, with sad humor. Il wish l
could forget it,"
"Well, my grandfather vas the heir
who profited Ly your surrender of
that legacy. But that is the $4,000 l
mentioned as having been bequeathed
to the drink cur hospital. Your
present legacy il a part Of my grand
savings on the dear home
farm where my father and ] rel
born. So you needn't fear to accept
t." he urged, again holding out the
envelope to her, which she took with
fingers.
MY grandfather, Miss Stockwell,"
continued the young man, was the
nearest relative when Mr.. Rollins
died, but he did not leave grandfather
anything. He left you $1,000 and the
rest to another person mo- a relative.