The Press., 1915-03-03

one except her lover with a secret on ! which so much depended. Kate concluded to receive her prop erty under her maiden name, though she had been advised that property left her as spinster was equally hers as a married woman. She went alone to the surrogate, who showed her the will She read that all Mrs. Herrick' s property was hers and breathed sigh of relief Then she read on and saw that provided she married the will was void.
 She uttered suppressed cry. All that she had sinned for, all that , she had waited for during five years,
 was lost. But was it lost? One who had ruined another by forgery was not incapable of signing lie. Might she not receive the property as an un-
 married woman? The surrogate obliged her before ac-
 knowledging her right to the property to sign statement under oath that she was not married. This was a more serious matter than forging a letter. She did not dare sign without consultation or at least deliberation. She went to lawyer and stated her case hypothetically. He informed her that a married woman under the cir cumstances signing statement that she was not and had not been married would commit felony and was liable to imprisonment.
 In her perplexity she informed her husband what she was obliged to do to secure the property they had been waiting for. He saw at once that it could be secured only by the perpetra- ticn of crime and told her so A quarrel resulted between them, and he left her.
 The fear of prison kept the benefi- ciary of the will from signing false hood, and after much delay she was forced to admit to the attorney who had had charge of the Herrick proper ty that she was a married woman and had no claim on the property. The lawyer before notifying the heirs-at law that Mrs. Herrick had died with out valid will made a search among the family papers to be sure that there was no prior will. He found one that had been made in favor of Julia An with the Herricks.
 One morning Julia Andrews received a letter informing her that she had in herited an estate worth $3OO,0OO. Jul'a believed there was some mistake. She called on the lawyer who had sent thc notification, and he told her that Kate Armitage, who had taken her place i'll the Herrick household, had been left the property, but with provi;o which had nullified the will
 Julia had known that her uncle and aunt had supplied her place, but knew little or nothing about the person who had taken it. If she accepted this prop erty she would take advantage of a technicality to secure an inheritance that was not rightfully hers. She thought the matter over, then asked for an appointment to meet the person whom she considered the rightful hels
 The two women met at the lawyers office and were left alone in private room. Julia was as calm as summer sky. Kate was pale as ghost.
 q presume,'' said Julia, "that you went to live with my uncle and aunt with the understanding that you were to inherit their property"
 fI did," said Kate in a faint voice.
 "How came it that my aunt put the provision in her will that if you mar ried you should lose your inheritance?"
 q don't know. never knew of such provision"
 "You completed your part of the con tract, believe-you remained with my aunt so long as she lived"
 q did" .
 'Then the property rightfully belongs to you"
 Kate made no reply to this. She hung her head to conceal her features, which showed the workings of conscience. There was long silence, at the end of which Julia continued: q cannot accept this property for two reasons. The first is that my aunt did not intend to leave it to me; there fore it is not mine. In the second place. when I was wrongfully accused by means of a forged letter my aunt believed the forgery instead of my de- nial, and am too proud to take it on this account. I am ready to turn it over to you."
 No police inspector could have ap piled the third degree to criminal more affectiVe1v Kate hrOke down and confessed that she was the author of the forgery.
 Because of her repentance Julia granted her an allowance as long az she lived