The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1907-08-15
THE KALBERG
INHERITANCE.
[Original.]


without expectation of children, adopt
ed young girl sixteen years old.
Rose Fales was IAN orphan. She pos
sessed about the best qualification for
making the couple happy amiability.
at any rate, she did make them happy
and it was supposed that when they
died Rose would be left competency,
All went well for couple of years,
when Rebecca Muir, a girl about Rose
Faies' age and a 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 plain,
stupid, matter of fact couple like the
Kalbergs 1t was not very difficult es-
pecially since Rebecca was as cum
ming as she was unscrupulOus. 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 Rebecca 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 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 fiashy young
fellow whom she introduced as Mr..
Strafin.. One night Mrs Kalberg,
wanting something of Rebecca, went
te her room. There the old lady found
her niece with Straffin. Rebecca was
equal to the occasion. She begged her
aunt's forgiveness for keeping Sc
cret from her. She had been secretly
married to Straffin. The aunt could
not understand why the matter had
been kept secret and was offended
with her niece for deceiving 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 Strafin appeared to
make no Roadway at gaining his fam
11y's consent to marry Miss Muir, and
she claimed that the marriage could
nst be acknowledged without running
his prospects. More than year passed
with no change In the situation, when
Mr. Kalberg died suddenly. His wife
,eontinued to live in the house with Re-
Decca, and Straffin continued to visit
her. Soon after Kalberg's death his
wife, who had been long failing. also
died "a
Immediately after Mrs. Kalberg's
death Rebecca hunted through her
aunt's papers and found will. To
sessed stocks and bonds innumerable in
safety deposit companies vaults. The
Will devised that the income should be
Mrs Kalberg's during her life and Mt
her death the property should all go
to Mrs. Rebecca Straffin.
Here was a pretty pass. Strafin 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
daw like this. She referred the matter
to an attorney, confessing the truth to
him, and he told her that since there
sYas no such person as Rebecca Straffin
the will counted for nothing. II she
could find Straffin, 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 perpetrating fraud,
and it was sure to be found out.
Rebecca, hoping possibly to find
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. Kalberg's
death. to Rose Fales.
This was double blow to Rebecca.
She had not only deprived herself of
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 If
he would find a way by which she
could inherit under the last will. He
told her that If she gave him the
whole Of 1t be would not be able to
make her the heir,
Rebecca formed a plan of getting
some one authorized to perform mar
Mage ceremonies to give hersa forged
certificate but she could find no one
who cared, even for a handsome con-
sfderatiOn. to take the risk. She would