The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1907-12-24
'..'''--,-st ISoS ~ Bosss-Msrriil %.
CHAPTER /.

-, grandfather's death found me at
N.ries early in October. John
.S.rsbau Glenarm had died in June,
LEAVING will which gave me his prop
artv conditionally, Pickering wrote,
md # was necessary for me to return
-,rnrediately to qualify as legatee. II
was by the merest luck that the letter
came to my hands at all, for 1t had
baen sent to Constantinople, in care
~ the consul general instead of my
banker there, and it was not Picker
inos fault that the consul was friend
~ mine who kept track of my wander
inos and was able to hurry the execu-
TORS letter after me to Italy, where
I had gone to meet an English finan-
cier who had was advised, unlimited
money to spend on African railways. /
am an engineer, a graduate of an I
American institution Familiarity known /
as THE Tech" and as my funds were /
running low l naturally turned to my /
profession for employment.
But this letter changed my plans, |
and the following day cabled Pick |
ering OF my departure and was out |
ward bound on a steamer for New
York. Fourteen days later / sat in
Picker.ngs Office in the Alexis Build
ing and listened intently while he
read tn much ponderous emphasis,
the prc isions of my grandfather's
will. " len he concluded l laughed.
Pickerins was a serious man, and
was glad 10 see that my levity panied
him. hid. for that matter, always
been a SC Irce of annoyance to him,
and his L * of distrust and rebuke
did not tro, Die me in the least
l reached across the table for the
paper. and l.. gave the sealed and be
ribboned copy of John Marshall Glen
arms will into my hands. l read it
through for myself, feeling conscious
meanwhile that chickering's cool gaze
was bent inquiringly upon me. These
are the paragraphs that interested me
most:
q give and devise unto my said
grandson, John Glenarm, sometime a
resident of the city and state of New
York, and later a vagabond of parts
unknown, a certain property known as
Glenarm House, with the lands and
Entertainments thereunto pertaining
and hereinafter more particularly de-
scribed, and all personal effects, goods
and other property that may be
located in the premises and on the
land herein described,-the said realty
lying in the county of Wabana in the
state of Indiana.-upon this condition,
faithfully and honestly performed:
That said John Glenarm shall re-
main an occupant of said Glenarm
House and of my lands appurtenant
thereto, demeaning himself meanwhile
in an orderly and temperate manner
Should he fail at any time during said
year to comply with this provision,
said property shall at once revert to
my general estate, shall become. with
out reservation and without necessity
Tor any process of law the property,
absolutely, of Marian Devereux, of the
county and state of New York"
Well, he demanded, striking his
hands upon the arms of his chair,
what do you think of it?"
For the life of me l could not help
laughing again. There was, in the
nrst place, a delicious irony in the
fact that l should learn through him
OF my grandfather's wishes with re-
speet to myself. Pickering and l had
grown up in the same town in Yer
mont; we had attended the same pre-
paratory school, but there had been
from boyhood a certain antagonism
between us. He had always succeeded
where failed, which is to say, l must
admit, that he had succeeded pretty
frequently. When l refused to settle
uown to my profession, but chose to
see something of the world first. Pick.
enng gave himself seriously to the
law, and there was, l knew from the
beginning, no manner of chance that
he would fail
am not more or less than human,
anu l remembered with joy that once
mad thrashed him soundly at the
prep school for bullying a smaller boy,
uut our score from school days was
NOT without tallies on his side. He
was easily the better scholar-I grant
nlm that; and he was shrewd and
plausible. You never quite knew the
extent of his powers and resources,
ana ne had, l always maintained. the
most amazing good luck,-as witness
.ne TACT that John Marshall Glenarm
nau taken friendly interest in him,
~ was wholly like emy grandfather
VINO was man of many whims, to
slVe mis- affairs into chickering's keep
ing and | could not complain, for
nau missed my own chance with him.
II was knew readily enough. part of
my punishment for having succeeded
50 signally in mourning my grand
iathers dtspleasure that he had made
necessary for me to treat with
arthur Pickering in this matter of the
VIII and Pickering was enjoying the
situation to the fun.
hut there was something not wholly
honest in my mirth, for my conduct
Suring the three preceding years had
Deen reprehensible. had used my