The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1906-01-05

eaftieu thls hatred to the proyo a..
you VIII see" 40
brewster was irving tn
gather himself together from within
the fos which made himself and tho
world unreal.
believe I'd like to have Won read
uis eStraor-the will, Mr.. Grant" no
saiu' With an effort to hold his nerves
In leash. ,es
VT. Grant cleared his throat and no.
gan IN his still voice. Once he looked
up TO find his listener eager. and ,po,n
10 ma him grown Indifferent. He Won.
uered dimly if this were a pose.
~ orlet, the last will Of James n
eeuswick Dequeathed everything, real
ana personal, Of which be died noe.
fessed to his only nephew, Montpomar,
Brewster Of New York, son Of Rohort
and Louise Sedgwick Brewster snn
plementlng this all important clause
.lere was a set of conditions govern.
ing the anal disposition of the estate
ihe most extraordinary Of these con.
dltlons was the one which reo,,,red
tne heir to be absolutely %penniless unon
the twenty-sixth anniversary NJ hi,
birth, Sept. %.
Inc instrument went into detail in
respect to his supreme condition. II
set forth that Montgomery Brewster
was to have no other worldly nossos-
sion than the clothes which covered
him on the September day named. He
was to begin that day without a penny
70 MS name, without a single article
OF Jeweiry, furniture or nance that
he could call his own or could thero-
after reclaim. At 8 o'clock, New York
time, on the morning Of Sept, % the
executor. under the provisions Of the
Will. was to make over and transfer
to Montgomery Brewster all of the
moneys, lands, bonds and interests
mentioned IN the inventory which ac-
companied the will. In the event tbat
Montgomery Brewster had not In every
particular complied with the require
ments of the will to the full satisfac-
ton of the said executor, Swearengen
Zones, the estate was to be distributed
among certain institutions of charity
designated in the instrument. Under
lying this imperative injunction Of
James Sedgwick was plainly discerni-
Bile the motive that prompted it. In
almost so many words he declared that
his heir should not receive the fortune
II he possessed a single penny that had
come to hin in any shape or form
from the man he hated, Edwin Peter
Brewster. While Sedgwick could not
have known at the time Of his death
that the banker had bequeathed ST.
100000 to his grandson, it was more
than apparent that he expected the
young man to be enriched literally by
his enemy. 1t was to preclude any
possible chance Of the mingling Of his
fortune with the smallest portion Of
Edwin p. Brewster's that James Sedg-
wick on his deathbed put his hand to
this astonishing instrument.
There was also a clause in which he
undertook to dictate the conduct Of
Montgomery Brewster during the year
leading up to his twenty-sixth anniver-
+, sary. He required that the young man
should give satisfactory evidence TO
the executor that he was capable Of
managing his affairs shrewdly and
wisely; that he possessed the ability
to add to the fortune through his own
enterprise: that he should come to his
twenty sixth anniversary with a fair
name and Il record free from anything
worse than mild forms Of dissipation;
that his habits be temperate; that he
possess nothing at the end of the year
which might be regarded as a visible
or invisible asset that he make no
endowments; that he give sparingly to
| charity; that he neither lend nor give
away money. for fear that it might be
restored to him later; that he live on
the principle which inspires a ma to
get his moneys WORTH be the ex-
penditure great or small. AS these
conditions were prescribed for but a
single year in the life Of the heir, 1t
was evident that Mr.. Sedgwick did not
intend to impose any restrictions after
the property had gone into his hands.
"How do you like it? asked Mr..
Grant as he passed the will to Brew
ster.
The latter took the paper and glanced
over 1t with the air of one who had
heard but had not fully grasped Its
meaning.
ut must be a joke, MI. Grant" he
said, still cropping with difficulty
through the fog.
mo, Mr.. Brewster, it is absolutely
genuine. Here is a telegram from the
probate court in Sedgwick's home coun'
II, received in response to a query
from us. 1t says that the will IS to
be fled for probate and that MI. seug-
wick was many times a millionaire
This statement, which he calls an IN.
yentory, enumerates his holdings ano
their value, and the footing shows DO
3445, 600 In round numbers. The invest
ments, you see, are gilt edged. Ihere
Is not a bad penny in all those NIL
lions" ;,
"Well, it is rather staggering ISM,
1T" said Montgomery, passing his hano
over his forehead. He was beginning
10 comprehend.
4b,r nro What are