The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1910-07-14
UNCLE
AARON'S
WILL
BY q. A. X s s Ii

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 It. regarded
him as an avarlcious, coldly calcu-
lating machine, without heart, con
science or human sympathy. He
thought of me as al idle, shiftless
dreamer, with the heart of a poet and
the head of a fool.
Whatever the people thought OF
him, It is but fair to his memory to
say that they agreed with his judg-
ment OF myself.
Therefore, when / returned to
Frankfort-for l 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
10 some worthy charity.
After the funeral / was called into
a private room where two men were
seated. One of them I recognized as
my uncle's lawyer, the other as his
banker.
They greeted me In a c~uriously
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 l 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, / have a 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 II you refuse to
abide by the provisions enumerated
therein, you are forbidden ever to
speak about II. Do you accept this
preliminary requirement."
II do" I said without hesitation.
"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 ac-
cept the terms of his will, your letter
Of credit with Mr.. Brenton will be IN
limited. No check however small or
great, will be unhonored; your wealth
will exceed the dreams Of Monte Girls
TO. II you refuse the terms of the
will all his wealth goes to charity"
go on" said | n~ervously.
"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 b~equest."
The two men looked at me curious
ly; / 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 II I accept?"
THAT you are never to leave the
corporate limits OF Frankfort willing.
~ or u~nwillingly, and that you tell no
n Of the conditions of the will. The
minute you break any one of these re-
Quirements the money passes out of
your hands"
/ thought rapidly. That I should be
compelled to remain in such a place
was a terrible idea to me. That
should lose a fortune rich beyond i'm
agination was not to be thought of by
an idle beggar like me.
II accept the terms" l said brief
ly. and hurried out lest / change my
decision.
My uncle, / reflected, could have I'm
ficted no greater punishment than
that of compelling me to hive inside of
OO VIZ tAhAitp VI CiduhlOTl, anu yet
who In the world would not Jump at
the chance of being absolute monarch
and dictator of one of the hustling
young American cities, for such
would be?
Though / possessed the contempt of
most of the inhabitants that knew me,
] did not have an enemy there: and
knew that as oon as unlimited money
was mine, these people would be fawn,
ing sycophants at my feet
The best hotel that the town pos
sessed was the Elks. a three-story
building that stood on a prominent
corner. It was old In design, rather
behind the times and had been en-
iarged once oil twice. Every one with
proper civic pride was sensitive as tc
the Elks. yet recognized the fact tina,
mo- one could successfully compete
with the landlord, George Graham. II
starting a new hosiery. for the rea
o that competitive building space
was too valuable. and the price O
labor and building material too higi
TO make the investment profitable.
As / entered the lobby and ad