The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-11-06
How a Fortune
Was Saved
iOr'iginal.1

at the address, Il handsome house in
closed in spacious grounds, and found
q man who had been born a gentle
man. but without much education. L
was engaged and met in his house a
publisher to whom 1 proposed a ven
tLre which was successful and led uD
to a fortune. When l, resigned my Sec
r%etaryship l was speaking to my EN-
ployer of the chance, as I called it.
which had led me to him and consn-
queItly to prosperity.
"Chnnce!" he exclaimed. "That was
no chance. The world is fill of such
chances as that. Rather call it the
result of Il perfectly. rational act-my
advertisement. If you want to hear
the story OF a fortune secured by
chance will tell you one. for myself.
when l was Il boy l was inclined
to be maynard. Instead of being sat
1sfied to remain at school I ran away
and went to sea. 1 had enough of salt
water in one voyage and would have
returned to my father had I not been
too proud. l entered the service of a
manufacturer of paper who did a very
extensive business. There. / remained
ten years, but having an inherited dis
like for business-my ancestors got
rich by holding land-I never was pro-
NOTED beyond the position Of sales
man. Finally 1 was discharged.
II made up my mind to go home and
see what had become Of my father.
| My mother had died at my birth, and
I was the only child. Therefore at my
fathers death the property would all
come to me unless, Disguised with my
action in running away, he should
leave it elsewhere. On reaching home
I found that he had died about two
years before and left the property to
his ~housekeeper, Mrs. Higgins. I knew
family from the time of my birth, and
1t was her i'll treatment of me that had
largely Influenced me to run away
from home. "5s
II visited the family lawyer, Mr..
Jones, and ~endeavored to learn if my
father had spoken to him of me and
his intentions regarding me. He told
me that shortly before. his death my
father had mentioned the matter Of a
will and said to him that he would
make no will on account of my alb
sence, relying on the law to settle the
matter in accordance with subsequent
events, including my possible return.
MY father died in June, 1895, and no
will was produced till eighteen months
later, Meanwhile I had been hunted
for and not found. In December, 1896,
Mrs. Higgins produced the will, which,
she declared, she had found among
other papers in my fathers cabinet.
1t was Of the simplest form, stating
that he left all his property, real and
personal, to Mrs. Martha Higgins, wild.
ow, in consideration Of her kind care
and treatment Of him for many years.
I asked the lawyer if there was no
way of breaking the will, and he said
there was non unless I could prove
that Mrs. Higgins had used undue in
fuence over the testator or that he was
of unsound mind. l knew that my
W obstinacy was inherited from my
father, and not even Mrs. Higgins was
likely to have Influenced him. AS to
his being Of unsound mind, all his af-
fairs had Seen attended to in a man
ANA IL .AlCIlGl
condition till a few days before his
death. The will was dated four months
before he was taken with his last ill
ness.
ut didn't take me long to discover
that there was no possibility of my
recovering my property through Or
binary legal process. 1 was forced to
give the matter up and go hunting for
a position whereby to live. l found
n small job sufficient to keep me alive,
but my mind remained upon my for
tune and Mrs. Higgins. Finally. a de-
sire came to me to see with my own,
eyes the will by which my father had
disinherited me. Being ignorant Of
! such matters, I went to Mr.. Jones,
who took me to the courthouse, where
the document was fled, and it was
produced by an officer Of the court. It
was written on half a sheet OF. note
paper and witnessed by two persons of
whom l had no knowledge. l was per-
mitted to take it in my hands and.
yielding to a habit acquired in the pa
per business, rubbed it with my thumb
and foretinger, then held it up to the
light.
"'Mr. Jones' I said. that paper was
manufactured by the Bagstock Paper
company, with which l was connected.
and sold by me when it first came
from the mills last September. l re-
member the fact because it was about
the sale of some of this paper that I
got into trouble and lost my position
allow could that have leen?' he re-
Piled. This is February. 1897. Last
September was in 1896. The will is
dated May. 1885 .,
-"It doesn't make any difference to
me when the will was dated. That pa
per was. not manufactured and sold till
last September
"'Then the will is a forgery, and