St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1910-09-24
UNCLE
AARON'S
WILL
By q. A. RU S Sc IL

Frankfort were almost distracted be-
tween the conflicting emotions of grief
and curiosity.
They knew, or thought they knew.
my uncle as the richest man by far
in the city. Silent, cold and reserved,
no one had ever presumed to be his
confidential friend.
He died without kith or kin of any
kind in the world, except myself,
whom he heartily detested. We had
not spoken to each other for years,
and both were glad Of 1t. I regarded
him as an avaricious, coldly calcu-
lating machine, without heart, con-
science or human sympathy. He
thought of me as an idle, shiftless
dreamer, with the heart of poet and
the head of fool.
Whatever the people thought of
him, it is but fair to his memory to
say that they agreed with his judy
ment of myself.
Therefore, when I returned to
Frankfort-for 1 never long remained
in the uncongenial hole-the inhab-
| itants of that town were properly
curious as to whether he would leave
his money to his unworthy nephew. or
| to some worthy charity.
After the funeral I was called into
| a private room where two men were
seated. One of them recognized as
my uncle's lawyer, the other as his
banker.
They greeted me in curiously
| quiet and constrained way that struck
me as ominous for my future well
fare.
Mr.. Boles, the lawyer, got up and
lighted the gas, pulled down the
shades, and locked all the doors. The
banker remained seated, offering no
comment, while / gazed with fas-
cinated interest from one to the other.
Mr.. Boles having at last secured the
proper privacy seated himself and be-
gan:
"Mr. Gordon, l have strange COM
munication to make to you. The
strangest that you ever heard. 1t is
concerning your uncle's will. We
three are the only persons on earth
that are to know the contents Of this
strange bequest, and if you refuse to
abide by the provisions enumerated
therein, you are forbidden ever to
speak about it. Do you accept this
preliminary requirement.?
II do" said without hesitation.
1.-THE first of all, you must know
that your uncle was far richer than
any one imagined. He died possessed
of almost unlimited wealth. Not one,
but many, many millions. If you &C.
cept the terms of his will, your letter
of credit with Mr.. Brenton will be un-
limited. No check however small or
great, will be unhonored; your wealth
will exceed the dreams of Monte Girls.
to. If you refuse the terms of the
will all his wealth goes to charity"
go on" said I nervously.
"The provisions of this strange
document are in brief these: That all
of this great fortune is to be yours
to spend in any, manner you choose
provided you remain within the cor
porate limits of Frankfort always;
and further, that you tell no one Of
the contents of this bequest."
The two men looked at me curious
ly; l was strangely embarrassed
Never in my widest imagination had
dreamed of anything like this.
"Once more tell me the restrictions
that will be placed on me If accept?'
"That you are never to leave the
corporate limits Of Frankfort willing
ly or unwillingly, and that you tell ne
one of the conditions of the will. The
minute you break any one of these re
quirements the money passes out O
your hands"
thought rapidly. That l should b.
compelled to remain in such place
was terrible idea to me. That
should lose fortune rich beyond i'm
agination was not to be thought Of b,
an idle beggar like me.
II accept the TERMS" said brief
ly, and hurried out lest I change m!
decision.
My uncle, reflected, could have in
flicted no greater punishment thai
that of compelling me to live inside O
the city limits Of Frankfort, and We
who in the world would not jump a
; the chance of being absolute monarch
and dictator of one of the hustlin,
young American cities, for such
would be?
Though possessed the contempt O
most of the inhabitants that knew me
I did not have an enemy there; and
> knew that as soon as unlimited none
: was mine, these people would be faw1
ing sycophants at my feet.
The best hotel that the town DOS
; sessed was the Elks, a three-stor
building that stood on a prominen
: corner. It was old in design, rathe
, behind the times and had been er
larged once or twice. Every one wit
proper civic pride was sensitive as t
, the Elks, yet recognized the fact tina
no one could successfully compel
with the landlord, George Graham, i
,, starting new hostelry, for the res
, son that competitive building spac
was too valuable, and the price G
labor and building material too hig
.. to make the investment profitable.
AS entered the lobby and az
vanced to the Office I saw GrahaI
himself behind the desk.
> Hello, Gordon, want a square mes
before you hit the road againr'
Many time he had spoken in
similar manner, yet today withor
!. telling SO, resented it.
ION the contrary am going to sta