The Starkville news. (Starkville, Miss.) 1902-1960, 1905-02-24

restless until 1t was done. NOW MS
dying eyes stared dimly at his feeble
signature and his fingers dropped the
pen.
Read it," he said, slowly, and DR..
Grey obeyed. 1t was apparently the
same as his other will. which was at
the moment in his lawyers office, and
this had only been done in order to
humor a dying man.
Dr. Grey read it carefully.
The last will of me, Geoffrey Kaye"
the sick man repeated, slowly. Yes
everything-to my daughter. Mary
everything to my daughter, Mary"
He fell back and stretched out his
hand.
Take it away now" he said. "Put
it in my desk yonder. | shan't be long
now"
Dr. Grey obeyed, and Mary took her
fathers hand.
"Oh, father, father!" she cried, I'M
der her breath.
He looked into her face.
My good little girl" he said. slow
ly. My good little girl. You'll al
WAYS remember. Mary want you to
be happy? You'll remember that"
Mary's eyes filled, and she put her
head down on the pillow beside him
to hide her tears.
A few days later Godfrey Kaye was
dead, and a few days later still Mary
sat facing small group of people in
the library in Treherne Court She
looked whittier than ever in her black
mourning frock. and her eyes were
heavy and red trimmed.
Il suppose it is all right she said.
YEARLY. IF Mr. Guest is satisfied |
shall not dispute it. Oh, couldn't dis
pute it.
The woman who faced her lifted her
head boldly. She was a dark, thick
set woman, as unlike the late Geofrrey
Kaye as it was possible to be. Yet,
nevertheless, there seemed to be not the
slightest doubt that she was his daugh-
ter. Mr.. Guest, the solicitor, and old
Dr. Cry had tried to find some flaw in
her story butrit seemed right enough.
twenty-five years ago Mr. Hayes wife
had deserted him, taking with her her
poor, and Mrs. Kaye hated poverty as
fercely as foolish. empty-headed women
do sometimes hate/it. 1t was Mrs.
Hayes one strong emotiOn-hatred or
the poverty which kept her from the
luxuries of life and she left 1t for what
she stupidity believed was far better.
When Mr.. Kaye got his divorce she
o6 some
years later, when her second husband
had run through his fortune, into pow
erty deeper still. Apparently it broke
her heart, for she died leaving her child
to the care Of her husband-an adven-
turer, swinder and thief.
How they had lived since her moth
er's death Claudia Kaye did not care 20
say, but she had come upon Treherne
Court by accident ESQ she Informed
them). had probably tried to blackmail
Mr. Kaye, and would no doubt have tried
again had he not met with the accident.
She had seeN him and spoken to him.
she said, and he had owned her as his
daughter.
Now she claimed the estate; and both
Mr.. Guest and DR.. Grey were disheart-
ened and troubled, for the last will Mr..
Kaye had made had upset everything
and played straight into the hands Of
the woman before them, for he had dis
tinctly written his 'daughter' instead
of his adopted daughter" as he had
meant to do. His other wills each had
"adopted'' prefxed but this last-that
strange fancy to rewrite his will-had
undone everything.
And it was absolutely unnecessary
unless, indeed, the memory OF the past
had affected him and made him wish to
reinstate his own daughter.
Yet they could not believe that, for he
had not mentioned her-had not even
limited at her existence-befOre he died
1t was Mary's name which had been on
his lips.
We'll" said Mr. Guest to the claimant,
tif you can prove that you are indeed
Mr.. Hayes daughter, | am afraid you
will have a clear case. But you must
prove it first"
week later the news was spread in
the town that Mary was an heiress no
! longer-but a poor girl with her living
to get Hon. Arthur Tenby could not
realize it-could not believe that such
misfortune would overtake him, for
Mary was the prettiest girl he knew, and
it was SO hard to give her up.
Still, he did it as gently as he could, in
DR.. Grey's house, where she had gone
to live for awhile. 1t was such pitirui
thing, be thought, that people SO we'll
suited to each other should have to part,
and at one moment he was almost