Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-08-18

family; others had felt perhaps too kccnly
the deep responsibility resting upon them
when chosen from the panel a. jurors. and
had evadcd their public duties a few had de-
clnei Office and low salary; but no one
shrank from the possibility Of having been
called upon TO assume the functions Of Peggy
Monat, tine hoiress
The viii wa contested first hv the widow,
whom it now appeared lad never been lc-
gally divorced from the deceased: next by
four Of hi, cousire, who awo;e, only too late,
e. "A consciousness of bis moral and locuniary
worth. But the humble legatec--,t singularly
plain, unpretendiug, uncducatel western
girl-oxhihttcd a dogsad pcrtnacity in
claiming her rights. She rejected all comlro-
inscs. rough sense of justice in the com
muuty, while doubling her ability TO take
care Of the whole fortune, suggested that She
ought to he content with 100000 She's
bound go throw even that away on some
derned skunk Of man, nationally; but
three millions is too much to give
chap for maxim her Unhappy It's ofTcrn'
q temptation to cusseduess." The only
opposing voice TO this counsel came from
the sardonic lips Of Mr. Jack Hamlin. Sup
pose" suggested that gentleman, turning
abruptly ON the speaker-"suppose, when
you won $2J,uOu Of me last Friday
night - suppose that instead Of handing
you over the money as dd-suppose I'd got
up on my hind legs and said, Look yer, BIZ
Wethersbee you're a id fool. If | give
ye that twenty thousand, you'll throw il
away in the first skin game in Frisco, and
hand it over to the first short card sharp you'll
meet There's "A thousand -euough for You
to fling away,--take it and gctr Suppose
what Id said 10 you was the frozen truth.
and you kpow'd it, would that have been the
square thing to play on youN But hero
Wcthcrshce quickly pointed ont the inenl-
cheney Of the comparison by stating that he
had won the money fairly with stake. "And
how do You know" demanded Hamln saw
agey, bending his black eyes on the aston
ishcd casuist-"how do you know chat the gal
hc2nt pat down stake" The man STAN
mcrcd an uuinleligiblo reply Tho gambler
laid his white hand on Wethersbee's shoulder
"Look here, old man" he said, "every gal
stakes her whole pile-yOu cah bet your life
on that-whatevor's her littlo game. If she
took to koords instead of her feelings, if she'd
put up chips instead o body and soul, she'd
bust every bank 'twixt this aud 'Friscol You
hear nor
Somewhat Of this idea was conveyed. fear
not quito as sentimentally, to Peggy Soffat
herself The best legal wisdom Of San Fran
CISCO, retained by the widow and relatives took
occasion, in n private interview with Peggy,
TO point out that she stood in the quasi crirn-
nal attitude of having unlawfully practiced
upon the affections of an insane elderly gentlo-
man, with view Of getting possession Of his
property, and suggested to her that no vestige
of her moral character would remain after
the trial, if she persisted in forcing her claims
10 that issue II is said That Peggy, ON hear
ing this, stopped washing the plate she had in
her hands, and, twisting the towel around her
fingers, fixed her small pale blue eyes at the
lawyer.