The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-04-18
".
Continued.

"Don't be in a hurry. There may be.
a will. The property can only be OURS
If there is no will, because Tom
would certainly have given it to that
girl"
Harriet sunk back in her chair.
81 thought" her husband continued,
"before he went away; that there
would be no money, after ALL"
"No money? Why? With all your
nncle's f~ortune!"
Because it seemed at one time as
If there were liabilities that would
swallow up all. Why should he make
a will when he had nothing to leave?
There was not even an insurance; there
is next to nothing in the bank; there
are his books, but what are they
WORTH"
mo will, you think, Tom? Then"
: 'No will, I am nearly sure. But for
the present we cannot be absolutely
certain"
"But then he may not be dead, after
ALL"
"For my W part, I have been GER
tain from the beginning that he is
dead. The party were surrounded md
attacked. A few escaped. When the
place was visited again the other day
there was nothing but the skeletons
left. / have no doubt at all that he is
killed."
"Ohw It was a long and r%apturous
interjection. "Are you sure. Jem? Oh!
And no will! Can no n take the
property away from u.s."
"There is no will, Harriet. 1t will be
all mine.'' He spoke with an author
Sty which commanded faith.
"How much is it, Jem? Oh, tell me
how much it is"
"There's a house in Russell Square,
beautifully furnished, where my uncle
lived"
"Oh! but there's more than a house."
! "There is property of all kinds-free-
hold houses, lands, Observation-Disclosures
come to, Wen say, fifteen hundred a
year, I dare say. Harriet, We'll go at
once and live in Russell Square"
1--WE will, Jem."
"WeIl give up this measly little
villa"
"We will-oh! we will; and Jem-
dear Jem-promise me you won't play
ducks and brakes with this money as
you did with your own"
mo, my dear, I will not. I've done
with betting, don't you fear. It's all
over Harriet. And I say, old girl,
we've had our little tihs about the
money, and I own we've been hard up
once or twice"
"0nce or twice only? 1t seems to
me that it's been nothing but a stand
mp fight ever since we got married.
Hardly a day but I wished myself
back at my stall in Soho Bazaar Once
or twice! And you led me to believe
that you were so we'll off,"
"Well, Harriet, I was in love, you
know. But that's all over, and what l
wanted to say was that it's all to be
forgotten now, just as we shall sink
the stall when we go into society and
take our proper place"
"Poor Tom Addison" she sighed. 81
shall put on mourning for six months
not Grape, Of course, because 1 hate it
but ~half-mourning for six months.
Half-mourning is always becoming.
Poor Tom Addison! And I shall al
ways be sorry that I saw him. 1
could have grieved for him SO much
more truly if 1 had ever known him."
"Oh! never mind that" said her hus-
band, brutally. "Sit down and enjoy
a good cry over him, just as if you
had known him. You'd like him back
again, wouldn't you? Nothing we
should either of us like better"
Don't, Jem. Of course, it makes a
wonderful difference to us. But we
may have our feelings, and there's a
proper way of talking about things"
Feel away" Jem grinned, land talk
as much as you like, but don't talk
him back again. Yes, you can talk, l
know, as we'll as the tinker who talked
off the donkey's hind leg"
"Then there's that poor dear girl who
was engaged to him. What's become
of her? 1 wish I'd known her, too. /
could have called upon her and con-
doled with her in black silk"
? "She is a g%overness somewhere, 1
believe. It's rough on her, isn't it?
I hope she'll get another lover"
Lovers are not to be had for the
asking, Jem. There's not enough to 60
round, as everybody knows, and very
few girls get more than one chance;
unless, Of course, they are more than
commonly attractive" She smiled,
feeling herself to be one of the excep-
tions.
This conversation makes the resi-
dence Of Mr.. and Mrs. James Rolfe in
Russell Square ineligible. 1t also
explains why Mr.. James Rolfe sat
every day in his uncle's office in New
Square, Lincoln Inn, his own name be-
ing put up instead Of his uncle's, and
there carried on his business.
When James Rolfe was an articled
clerk there came to the Office once a
quarter, to receive on each occasion
the sum of seventy-five pounds, in five
pound notes, a gentleman named Cap
tain Willoughby. He was an elderly
man Of distinguished appearance and
excellent The senior clerk
received him, gave him his money, and
took his receipt. The whole business
did not take more than five minutes.
On the last quarter day of March. COM
~ ..n ,a1u 5o, ro,4o;n Jty;1