The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-03-31

formed n OF the little party that
wound upward, lifted q smooth cube of
polished granite.
"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 he cavity, the block
OF stone was thrust in until 1t
was flush with the surface of the ped
estal. Carved on the end of the stone
We're four words:
Pulvis
Cinis
Mill.
1t was when the workmen had beer
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
mortal of Reale had beer placed.
The Latin?" asked Angel.
Surprising, isn't it?" said the other
quietly. "Reale had seen things, you
know. A MAJ who travels picks up in
formation" He nodded toward the
epitaph. H got that idea at Toledo,
It,? A slab OF brass over a deal king
maker. Portocarrero, 'Hic jacet pulvis
cinis ct nihil.' l translated it for him:
the conceit pleased him. Sitting here,
watching his strange funeral, I won
dered II 'pulvis cinis ct nihil would
come into It."
And now SPEEDING came creaklne
back. The workmen had disappeared,
the outer door was closed, and the com
m~1ssionaiIe had retired to his room
leading from the vestibule. In Sped
dlngs hand was a bundle Of papers.
u nc fNNly ltr -I--o -.s<A 4
granite pedestal and lost no time in
preliminaries.
Il have here the will Of the late
James Ryan Reale." he began. .The
contents OF this will are known to every
person here except Miss Kent" He had
a dry humor OF his own this lawyer,
as his next words proved. "a week ago
a very clever burglary was committed
in my Office: the safe was pened a
private dispatch box forced. and my
papers ransacked. l must do my WISH
tor Justice he bowed slightly, first in
the direction Of Conner, then toward
Jimmy-"and say that nothing was
taken TAI n practically nothing disturbed.
There was plenty OF evidence that the
object OF the burglary was to secure a
sight Of his will"
Jimmy was unperturbed at the
scarcely-veiled charge, and IL he moved
it 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 u~neasiness.
Go on he said, as the lawyer
paused as though waiting for an ad-
mission. He was quietly amused. He
knew very we'll now who this consid-
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.
Il Will formally read the will ana
afterwards explain 1t to such Of you as
need the explanation" Speeding re-
sumed.
h 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
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 w~heresoever
absolutely that went to somebody. To
whom h could not gather. Once
she thought it was to herself, ito Fran
els Corydon Kent. Esquire, or the heirs
of his body" one 1t sounded as hough
his huge fortune was to be inherited
by James C%avendish Fairfax STAN
nard, Baronet of the United Kingdom"
She wondered IL this was Jimmy, and
remembered in a vague way that she
had heard that the ninth baronet of
that name was a person Of questionable
character Then again 1t seemed as IL
the legatee was to be Patrick George
Conner. 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 Law
q sting that sent a dull red flush to
Connor's cheek and again provoked
Jimmy's grim smile.
The lawyer read:
Signed by the above James Ryan
Reale as his last will and testament
the word thief after James Caven-
dish Fairfax Stannard. Baronet of the
United Kingdom and the word thief
after Patrick George Connor.' in the
goth n 2Sd lines from the top here
of, having been deleted), in the pres
nee 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. / will explain it
in a few words. My late client was
the owner Of a gambling establishment.
Thus he amassed a huge fortune,
which he has left to form, If I may
so put it, a large prize fund. The
competitors are yourselves. Frankly,
it is a competition between the dupes,
or the heirs Of the dupes. who were
ruined by my late client, and the men
who helpetA II the f1eec{prO
The lawyer spoke dispassionately,
as though expounding some hypothe-
sis, but there was hat in his tone
which made Conner vince.
Your father, my dear young lady,
was n of these dupes many years