The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-03-28
A SINGULAR
WILL CASE
BY ARTHUR w. BREUSTER
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

have ever heard none Is stranger than
one happening in my own life, and 1t
led to important results.
One day, happening in at my law.
yers office, he said to me:
by the bye, we have a big lot Of
papers In your case against Bunsby.
II has all been settled up, and would
like to turn them over to you. We are
Dyerburdened here with dead docu-
ments."
He called an office boy and sent for
the papers. They came TO me in one
large bundle. which tucked under my
arm, walked home with II, and threw
1t, without opening 1t. into an iron
box kept for family records.
Ten years passed. during which Pc
riod / went on an average TO the box
once or twice a year to toss into 1t
some document that would probably
never be needed again. / had no oc-
casion to look into the box during all
this period, but the time came when
found II necessary to overhaul II In
search for missing paper. BY the
time found my paper every separate
bunch had been unrolled and their con-
tents were all in confusion. Picking
up paper marked Last win and tesla
ment Of James Chieningsby," was
somewhat surprised to find such
document.
| opened and ran my eye over It's
contents. There was nothing to indi-
cate the value Of the estate, nor were
the names Of any of the legatees IA
nllIiar to me. There were few small
beouests to different persons. and the
residue was TO be given to minor.
How the paper got into my box was a
mystery. | was not Interested In the
will, int vas deeply interested in
how IL came to be where ] found II.
IT must have been there long while.
but not more than twenty years, for
the date it was executed was no fur'
Their tack than that. But 1t might
have been put In my box much more
lately than that.
| should have attached more impor-
lance 10 It If persons could not make
more than one legal viii. II struck
me that this might be an old one
which had been voided by later one
and had got mixed with old out OF
date papers But that did not explain
how II came TO be In my possession,
for it was not paper in which or
any Of my family. so far as ! knew,
had any interest. ! looked 1t over
carefully to see IL there was any clew
by which I could discover who were
the Ieeatees. but there was nothing to
give me the slightest information con-
corning II. | took 1t to my desk In
room occupied for smoking and
placed it in a pigeonhole. intending TO
advertise Il. But time passed. and l
/ took no action.
( Some time after this married my
/ stenographer and typewriter She was
/ very poor, and was not rich. ! was
! making a bare living and until our
/ first child was born she retained her
/ position in my service. Indeed, 1t was
essential that she should, and when
/ children came and | was deprived OF
her assistance in spite Of all my eff
forts I was losing my grip and could
not afford 10 hire another stenogra-
pher.
I one morning while looking over my
newspaper my eye drifted to real es'
tate items. One Of them mentioned
the sale Of piece of property belong
ing TO the Chieningsby estate. The
name was an odd one, but 1t seemed
10 me that had seen it somewhere
before.
.sMy dear" ! said to my wife. did
you ever bear Of the name Chienings'
byT'
al had an uncle by that name
though never saw him. He disap'
reared when he was boy and was
never heard from. All know OF him
Is that heard my mother speak OF
him before she died"
| kept thinking of the name till sud
denly It flashed upon me that | had
seen 1t in the will found 10 my iron
boy. | went to my desk, took out the
document and read the name OF the
testator-James Chieningsby call
cd nv wife and read the will 10 her
when came to the name OF the he'll
to the residue OF the estate ! stopped
wonder stricken 1t was her maiden
name.
She was as much mystifed as l. All
she knew Of the name OF Chieningsby
was what she had told me. But we
were both in fiutter OF excitement
What did It mean7 Then | remember
ed that man may make will every
day II be likes and only the last one
is OF any value. Nevertheless ! was
aroused. ! rushed out to my attor
ney, or the one who had once had my
law business, showed him the docu
. ment and was about TO ask him tc
make an investigation for me when be
exclaimed:
"By thunder"
Explain" | cried impatently.
.Tnstead Of answering me he called
out to his partners, Here's a will fol
the Chieningsby estate"
"For heavens sake tell met!
"Where did you get thlsY
.sFound Il In a boy Of mine where
, II has probably been for years"
/ ut represents an estate that has
never been settled since no one has
been found near enough OF kin TO claim
- 10 tbis IL yenuiue all but these