Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-07-10
DAILY STORY
THE kALBERG INHERITANCE.
TOriuipal

At any rate, she did make them happy,
and it was supposed that when they
died Rose would be left Il competency.
All went we'll for couple of years,
when Rebecca Muir, a girl about Rose
FaleS' age and niece of Mrs. Kali
berg, came to the house for visit.
Rebecca, who had no prospects but to
work for her living not being endow
ed with any principle, made up her
mind to GUST Rose if possible and get
herself installed In her place. How
she set about it Is not especially i'm
portant to this story With a plain,
stupid, matter of fact couple like the
Kalbcrgs it was not very difficult, es-
peCially since Rebecca was as cum
ming as she was INSCRIPTIONS. She
didn't expect to accomplish her work
all at once, but she did. At her first
accusation Rose Indignantly told her
foster father and mother that they
must take her word or Rebecca's.
They didn't seem disposed TO decide
for either. and Rose proudly left the
field to her enemy. Then Rebccca of
fered to come in and help the old peo-
pie out for awhile and without wait
ing for them to accept the offer moved
in, bag and baggage.
Now. the Kalberg household every
night at 8 o'clock was darkened. the
couple going to bed and the niece pre-
tending to do SO. Instead she usually
went out for amusement. Occasionally
she brought to the house Il tlaShy young
fellow whom she introduced as Mr..
Straffin One night Mrs. Kalberg,
wanting something of Rchccca, went
to her room. There the old lady found
her niece with Stratlin. Rebccca was
equal to the occasion. She begged her
aunt'S forgiveness for keeping Il Sc
cret from her She had been secretly
married to Straflin. The aunt could
not understand why the matter had
been kept secret and was offended
with her niece for dcceiving her and
marrying without mentioning the mat
ter to her But RebecCa said that her
husband could not gain his family's
consent to the marriage and would not
permit her to divulge it. There seemed
nothing for the old couple to do but
forgive the girl and permit her To re-
ceive her husband at the house as often
as she liked.
AS time passed Straffin appeared to
make no Roadway at gaining his fam
ily's consent to marry Miss MUIR, and
she claimed that the marriage could
not be acknowledged without running
his prospects. More than year passed
with no change in the situation. when
Mr.. Kalberg died suddenly His wife
continued to live in the house with Re
becca. and Stratfin continued to visit
her Soon after KalberG's death his
wife. who had been long failing. also
died
Immediately after Mrs. Kalberc's
death Rebecca hunted through her
aunt's papers and found a will. To
her astOnishmcnt. Kalberg had pos
sessed stocks and bonds innumerahle in
safety deposit companies vaults. The
will devised that the income should he
Mrs. Kalberg's during her life and ut
her death the property should all go
to Mrs. RebecCa Straffin.
Here was pretty pass. Strafiin and
RebecCa had never been married. In
| deed, he had never intended to marry
her. About the time of Mr.. Kalberg'S
| death he had drifted away. Rebecca
| was cunning and resourceful. but she
was not up to the correction of legal
| flaw like this. She referred the matter
| to an attorney. confeSsing the truth to
| him. and he told her that since there
was no such person as Rebccca Straffin
| the will counted for nothing If she
| could find Straf1in, marry him and get
| the certificate of marriage dated back
even day before the date of the will,
| she might thus secure the property.
but this would be perpetratiug n fraud,
and it was sure to be found out.
Rebecca, hoping possibly to find 4
| previous will leaving the property to
her as Rebecca Muir, hunted the house
| over, and in the desk that had been
used exclusively by Kalberg she did
| find a previous will executed several
years before the last one. But it left
all the property, after Mrs. Kalbergs
| death. TO Rose FaleS
| This was double blow to Rebecca
She had not only deprived herself of q
| fortune by her sin and the lie that ac.
cOmpanied It, but she had turned that
| fortune over to the girl she had In.
| jured. She took the will to the lawyer
and offered him half the Inheritance il
he would find way by which she
could inherit under the last will He
told her that if she gave him the
whole of 1t he would not be able t.
make her the heir
Rebecca formed a plan of getting
some one authorized to perform mar
riage ceremonies to give her forged
certificate. but she could find no ore
who cared, even for a handsome con
sideration, to take the risk. She would
have torn up the VIII leaving the prop
erty to Rose Fales, but her lawyer
knew of its existence, and she dared
not. Since she could decide on moth
ing. she did nothing. Meanwhile rela
tives of the Kalbergs were putting iT
an appearance to discover if the ole
couple had left any property.
One day Rose Fales received a notf
from an attorney stating that she wa.
| heir to n large estate and he would Il,