The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1905-08-25

| fortunate, MIR. Brewster"
said Mr.. Grant, after the
young man had dropped into
chair in the office of Grant & Ripley
the next day. Montgomery wore
slightly bored expression, and it was
evident that lie took little interest in
the Will of James T. Sedgwick From
far back In the rcccsscs of memory he
| now recalled this long lost brother of
his mother. AS Il very small cE.l, ahe
nad seen his Uncle James upon the few
| occasions which brought him To the
home of MI. and Mrs. Robert Brewster
But the young man had dincd with the
Drcws the night before and Barbara
had had more charm for him than usu-
al. 1t was Of lirr that he was thinking
when he walked into the office Of
Swearcngcn Jones lawyers
"Thc truth is, Mr.. Grant, I'd COM
plctely forgotten the existence of an
uncle" he responded.
1T is not surprising" said Mr.. Grant
genially. Every one who knew him In
New York nineteen years ago believed
him to be dead. He left the city wien
you were n very small lad, going to
Australia, l think. lie was off to seek
his fortune, and he needed 1t pretty
badly when he started out. This lot
ter from Mr.. Jones comes Ike n mes
sage from the dead. Wcrc It not that
we have known Mr.. Jones for n long
time, handling affairs Of considerable
Importance for him, l should feel in
clncd to doubt the whole story. 1t
seems that your uncle turned M in
Montana about fifteen years ago and
there formed stanch friendship with
old Swcarcngon Jones. one of the rich
est men in the far west Scdgwick's
will was signed OH the day Of his death.
Sept. "a, and 1t was quite natural that
Mr.. Jones should be named rs his exec
utor. That is how we became interest
cd in the matter, Mr.. Brewster"
Il Scc," said Montgomery, somewhat
puzzled. But why do you say that
am both fortunate and unfortunate?"
The situation Is so remarkable that
you'll consider that n mild way of put
ting 1t when you've heard everything.
| think YOU were told In our note of
yesterday that YOU arc the sole heir.
Well, it may surprise YOU to learn that
James Scdgwick died possessed OF nm
estate valued ut almost S7.000,OOO."
Montgomery Brewster sat like one
petriicd, staring blankly at the old
lawyer, who could say startling things
in level voice.
He owned gold mines and ranches
in the northwest and there is no uues-
ton rs to their value. Mr.. JOKES in
his letter to us briefly outlines the his
tory of James SedSwick from the time
he landed in Montana. He reached
there in 1885 from Australia, and he
was worth $4,000 or $4,000 Mt the
time. Within five years he was the
owner of Il huge ranch and scarcely
had another five years passed before
he was part owner of three rich gold
mines. Possessions accumulated rap
idly; everything he touched turned to
gold. He was shrewd, careful and
thrifty, and his money was handled
with all the skill of n Wall street fnan-
cier. At the time OF his death in Port
land he did not owe n dollar in the
world. His property is absolutely un-
lncumbercd-safe and sound as n gov
ernmcnt bond. It's rather overwhelm-
ing. isn't itT' the lawyer concluded,
taking note Of Brewster's expression.
And hc-hc left everything to me?'
with q proviso."
"Ahw
Il have copy Of the will. Mr.. Rip
ley and 1 are the only persons In New
York who at present know Its contents
You, l am sure, after hearing it, will
not divulge them without the most
careful deliberation:"
fro BE CONTINUED