The Press., 1912-08-28

school. After her fiance's death she resumed 1t.
 Cicily knew little about the Brown estate, except that Harvey had told her that 1t was of considerable value. When she had resumed condition to enable her to think about worldly af- fairs and heard that the estate had turned out to be of much less value than had been expected she was sur prised. Could her lover have n1isrep- resented the matter to her? The sup position was not to be entertained for a moment. She had dwelt almost to breeding on the words she had heard In his voice, or a voice very like his, as in some way connected with his death, but no interpretation to them had occurred to her. When she was told that Harvey had left no fortune except the Brown homestead an ex- planation of the message telephoned to her on the day of his death flashed into her brain.
 "It's in the northeast corner of the smokehOuse."
 What smokehouse? There was no smokehouse on the Brown property. She and her mother occupied a few acres of ground that had formerly contained the buildings of farm. A smokehouse was, besides the dwelling, the only building left. Had Harvey while waiting for his wedding been seized with a presentiment that he might die unmarried and, remembering that in this case his cousin would get all his property, buried something for her in the smokehouse? Taking up pick and shovel, she went into the smokehouse and began to dig.
 She had but to remove a few inches of earth when she came to one of those tin boxes commonly used for keeping documents. Taking it up, she ran with 1t into the house and up into her room. The box was locked, but the key was tied to the wire ham, dle on the lid. Opening the box. she took out bonds, stock certificates and lastly a deed to the Brown homestead. One paper remained on the bottom, contained in an envelope sealed with wax. It was addressed to Cicty. Tearing it open, she took out folded paper indorsed in printed letters, Last will and testament Of," and in writing John Harvey Brown" Un- folding the document, Cicily read a few words bequeathing all the testa- tors possessions of every kind to her.
 But why had her lover not told her that he had left the box in the smoke house? Gradually probable explana- tion came to her. Harvey feared that in the event of his death before his marriage his cousin, even if Harvey made a will in her favor, might get possession of the document and de- stroy it. Harvey was secredve man and might not have intended to speak of the buried box if no necessity arose for doing so.
 And here came up the mystery of the telephone message. Had not Har- vey when caught in the storm been aware of his danger, gone into house where there was telephone and sent the message? But this theory would not hold, for if he could go into a house he might remain there and be out of danger. Moreover, if Harvey had sent the message from any house on the route he was known to have traversed the fact could be ascer- tained.
 Cicily handed the will into the court of chancery and was put in possession of her property. One day she drove over the road from the Brown home stead to the place where Harvey's dead body had been found looking for houses in which there were telephones. The only instrument was in Farmer Hardwick's. She interviewed Hard wick, heard his story, and the two stood face to face with deeper mys- tery than the one that had thus far puzzled them. ..
 Cicily Boardman has not married and will never marry. She occupies the Brown homestead alone since her mother died. living a life of solitude. She is known as woman whose mind Is normal on all subjects save one. That one is a belief that she received a telephone message from her fiance after his death. Farmer Hardwick lent color to the story she tells so long as he lived, but even his corroborat1on failed to convince any one of Cicily Boardman's sanity.
 There are few-advanced thinkers who, believing in the possibility of communication of the dead with the living, calm that there are natural methods for such communication as real, as was wireless telegraphy be- fore the latter was discovered, and that some day a new law will come to light by means of which we may speak with friends in another sphere with no more astonishment than we now talk through the air with those on an- other continent.