Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1904-10-24

Il
able. But-but-I must go and tell
her. Heaven help us BOTH"
CHAPTER XIV.
Where ignorance is bliss It's folly to
be wise. Quite ignorant and uncon~
scious Of all that was going on in Lon
don, Stephen remained down at the
Hurst.
What he had written to his mother
was quite true; as matter of fact
Stephen was far too clever to write
direct falsehoods-he was kept at
Hurst Leigh very much against his
will
Squire Ralph had left him everything
money, house, lands, everything ex-
cepting the few legacies to servants,
and Stephen had been hard at work,
and was still hard at work ascertain
ing how much that everything was.
And, as day followed day, and dis
closure succeeded disclosure, he be-
came fascinated and possessed by the
immense wealth which had fallen into
his hands, or, say rather, which he had
seized upon.
For many years the old squire had
lived upon less than half his income;
the remainder he had invested and
speculated with, and as often happens
to the miser, the luck of Midas had
fallen upon him.
Everything he touched had turned to
gold. The most unlikely speculations
had proved successful; properties
which he had bought for a mere song,
and which had been regarded by the
most wary as dangerous and profitless,
had becoe profitable and valuable.
Some of these risky speculations he
had, not unnatural1y, kept concealed
from the prudent Hudsley, who only
now, by the discovery of scrip and
bonds in out-of-the-way desks and
bureaus, learned what kind of man his
old friend had really been.
Not day passed but it brought to
light some addition to the old mans
gains, and served to swell the i'm
mense total
Even the lands round Hurst had
been manipulated by the old man, so
that leases ran out almost at his death,
and rents we're raised.
One speculation will serve as an in
stance; he had purchased, some fifteen
years before his death, the freehold of
an estate bordring upon London; and
in a locality which was then regarded
as hopelessly questionable. A great
capitalist had ruined himself by build
ing large houses on the property, fore
seeing that at some time or other the
tide of the great city would reach this
hitherto high and dry spot. But he
had made miscalculation, and he died
before the tide which was to bring
him wealth reached his property; old
Ralph had then stepped in and bought
it-houses, land, everything. In ten
years time the tide of fashion rolled
that way, and now what had once been
neglected and forgotten quarter
was the center of fashionable London.
1t reads like romance, but like
many other romances, it was true.
Old Ralph himself had no idea of his
own wealth, and that when he died he
SuOulQ leave U0uluu ulm one Vi the
most colossal fortunes in England.
Almost stunned by the immense total
so far as it had been arrived at
Stephen went about the place silent
and overwhelmed.
But one thought was always ring
nearly lost all this"
Sometimes, in the quiet of the IL
brary, where he sat surrounded by
books and papers, by accountants
statements and estimates, he would
grow pale and tremble as he reflected
by what narrow chance he had Sc
cured this Midaslike wealth.
But had he secured it? and when
the question presented itself, as it did
a hundred, aye, thousand times a day,
he would turn ashy pale and clutch the
edge of the table to keep himself from
reeling
Where was that will-the real true,
valid will-which left everything away
from him to Una?
Day by day, while going over the ac-
counts, he found himself waiting,
watching, expecting someone-whom
he could not imagine-coming in and
saying: This is not yours; here is
the will. l found it so and so at
such and such a time!" and he felt
that if such a moment occurred it
would kill him.
But as the days passed and no one
came to contest his claim to the prop
erty, he grew more confident and as
sured, and at las, he nearly succeeded
in convincing himself that he really
had burned the will
After ALL" he unused, over and over
again, that is the only probable, the
only possible explanation. Is it likely
that if anyone had the accused thing
they would keep it hidden? No! If
they were honest they would have de-
clared it at once; if dishonest, they
would have brought it to me and trad
ed upon it. Yes, l was half mad that