The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1910-03-31


me shall never die"
The clergymar's solemn voice re-
sounded through the building. and the
detective realized that the ashes of the
dead man were coming to their last
abiding place. The slow procession
moved toward the silent party. Slow
ly 1t paced toward the column; then,
as the clergyman's feet rang on the
steel stairway that wound upward, he
began the psalm which Of all others
perhaps most fitted the passing Of old
Reale:
Have mercy upon me. o God. after
Thy great goodness Wash
mo thoroughly from my wickedness;
and Cleanse me from my sin :.
ness. 9 dpod i''v'F m. from e'0'dsu'lt'-
Half way up the column small gap
yawned In the unbroken granite face.
and into this the golden cabinet was
pushed: then the workman, who had
formed one Of the little party that
wound upward. lifted a smooth cube Of
'Forasmuch as It hath pleased AL
mighty God Of His great mercy to take
unto Himself the soul Of our dear
brother here departed :"
The mason's trowel grated on
the edges OF the cavity, the block
Of stone was thrust In until It
was flush with the surface Of the ped
were four words:
Pulvis
Cinis
ct
Mill.
1t was when the workmen had been
dismissed, and the lawyer was at the
door bidding adieu to the priest whose
strange duty had been performed, that
Angel crossed to where Jimmy sat.
He caught Jimmy's grim smile, and
raised his eyes to where all that was
mortal Of Reale had been placed.
THE Latin?" asked Angel.
Surprising. isn't it?" said the other
quietly. "Reale had seen things, you
formation" He nodded toward the
epitaph. HE got that idea at Toledo.
in the cathedral there. Do you know
It? A slab Of brass over a deal king
maker, Portocarrero, 'Hic jacet pulvis
cinis ct nihil.' translated 1t for him;
the conceit pleased him. Sitting here,
watching his strange funeral, Won
dered II 'pulvis cinis ct nihil' would
come into L."
And now Speeding came creaklng
back. The workmen had disappeared,
the outer door was closed, and the COM
missionaire had retired to his room
leading from the vestibule. In Sped
ding's hand was a bundle OF papers.
He took his place with his back to the
granite pedestal and lost no time in
preliminaries.
II have here the will of the late
James Ryan Reale." he began. 1.-THE
contents Of this will are known to every
person here except Miss Kent" He had
dry humor OF his own. this lawyer.
as his next words proved. "A week ago
very clever burglary was committed
In my ONCE; the safe was opened, a
private dispatch box forced, and my
papers ransacked. I must do my visi-
tor Justice he bowed slightly, first in
the direction OF Conner. then toward
Jimmy-"and say that nothing was
taken and practically nothing disturbed
There was plenty Of evidence that the
object Of the burglary was to secure a
sight OF this WILL"
Jimmy was unperturbed at the
scarcely yelled charge, and II he moved
1t was only with the object Of taking
up an easier position In the chair. Not
even the shocked eyes Of the girl that
looked appealingly toward him caused
him any apparent uneasiness.
go on" he said. as the lawyer
paused as though waiting for an adj
mission. He was quietly amused. He
crate burglar was.
by copying this will the burglar or
burglars obtained an unfair advantage
over the other legatee or legatees"
The stiff paper cracked noisily as he
unfolded the document in his hand.
II will formally read the will ana
afterwards explain 1t to such Of you as
need the explanation" SPEEDING re-
sumed.
The girl listened as the lawyer began
to read. Confused by the legal term
inology, the endless repetitions, and
the chaotic verbiage Of the instrument,
she yet realized as the reading went
on that this last will and testament Of
old Reale was something extraordin-
airy. There was mention Of houses and
estates. freeholds and bonds :.
and all the residue Of any
property whatsoever and wheresoever
absolutely that went to somebody To
whom she could not gather. Once
she thought 1t was to herself. ito Fran
els Corydon Kent, Esquire. or the heirs
Of his body" once 1t sounded as though
his huge fortune was to be inherited
by James Cavendish Fairfax STAN
nard, Baronet Of the United Kingdom"
She wondered IL this was Jimmy, and
remembered In vague way that she
had heard that the ninth baronet Of
that name was person Of questionable
CNdTdCtcT. 1HeH again IL seemed as IL
the legatee was to be Patrick George
Connor." There was a doggerel verse
In the will that the lawyer gabbled
through, and something about the
great safe. then the lawyer came to
an end. In the conventional dec
laration Of the witnesses lay
4 sting that sent a dull red flush to
Connor's cheek and again provoked
Jimmys grim smile.
The lawyer read:
Signed by the above James Ryan
Reale as his last will and testament
(the word thief after James Cavern
dish Fairfax Stannard. Baronet Of the
United Kingdom and the word thief
after Patrick George Connor,' In the
goth and 23d lines from the top here
Of, having been deleted). in the pres
encc OF us +. :"
The lawyer folded the will perverse-
ly and put 1t In his pocket. Then he
took four slips Of paper from an en-
velope.
1T Is quite clear to you gentlemen {"
He did not wait for the mems reply,
but went on addressing the bewild-
cred girl
ITO you. Miss Kent, I am afraid the
! Will Is not so clear. I will explain 1t
In few words. My late client was
the owner Of gambling establishment
: Thus he amassed huge fortune,
which he has left to form. IL I may
80 put It, a large prize fund. The
competitors are yourselves. Frankly,
1t Is a competition between the dupes.