Newport daily independent., 1903-04-15
HER UNTLES REQUEST
ny IDA sHEPLER.

in which his office was located, he found it, tumbling out of box with other papers placed there an age ago, it seemed from their yellow, mil dewed appearance. Dr. Allen Frew would scarcely have noticed 1t had 1t not been for the quaint look of the square envelope, one of the klnd made by business men for their own special use, long before envelopes were designed and put in circulation.
 Carrying it up to the light, he not cd the name, faint and run together, "Gottlieb Irwin" Tearing it apart to wipe off bottle, other marks inside the envelope came in yiew-four small marks looking something like a maltese cross, and then: Front door, south ten paces; cast four; sec ond chestnut, three"
 "Now, what old codger thought ofmakingamemorandum inside of an envelope? The very place one would be sure 10 lose il" he said aloud. "Looks as if some one might have been hiding treasure. Let me sec, a certain distance away from the front door, then so far from cer- tain tree in a row of trees Wonder if that front door belonged to a miser?" And with this comment the young doctor flung it into the waste basket. An hour after, the wind from an open window went frisking down in that basket, and, catching up the old envelope, threw it at his feet, those marks now upper7 -paest With 3ps+l4feeAA glance of we4lz der at them, this time he flung it out of the window. Going out to dinner, there came that old fragment blow ing about his feet, now the name up- permost.
 'Well, Gottlieb," he said, with a laugh, "it seems that you are bound to get acquainted with me" Then he asked of the janitor who was passing into the building: "Who is or was Gottlieb Irvin?"
 "He isn't much of anything, now, I reckon" was the answer. "He was a rich cid fellow that lived over at Freeeman 90 years ago and more now. His folks lawed over his will and lawed all his money away. This building was the courthouse then. l s'pose they had all his letters and pa pers in court, and that's how that old envelope got stuck away with other court leavin's."
 Why he did it he could not tell, but Dr. Frew doubled the paper and stuck it into his pocket, finding it there, rather to his surprise, the next call he made upon the young lady he was to marry some day when his practice was assured, and his in- come sufficient to keep two
 "A queer old envelope with some queer old marks on." he said, turn ing to throw it in the grate. The girl caught his hand, a grave expres- sion clouding her face.
 "Gottlieb Irwin" she read. Then went on in explanation: Did you know this man was my great-uncle? Gottlieb Irwin was my grandmother's $ brother. He left her all of his prop erty except a box of precious old coins and some jewels that he had picked up in trade. These were to go ~tto my mother, then little girl.
 "IIe had strange mania for hid ing away money in odd places. He feared burglars and was tortured more than once by them and forced to disclose the hiding place of val uables; but moro than burglars he feared the banks. He had queer habit of putting four crosses to the end of his name, and on all business papers. But my mother often in those days, before she died, told me that he was not insane, and had it not been for his brothers going re- peatedly to law to prove that he was, mv grandmother would have inher- tied that which he wished her to have, and through her my mother and myself would have also inherited much money. It was a shameful thing for my great-uncles to do.