The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1915-10-21
Very Long
Lived
Bv LOUISE B. CUMMINGS

ouackenbos, II don't see any ie"
why you and Dan Perkins shouiuh
:. married at once instead o waltln
for me to git out O. the way and-anu
leave you what got. tell you WHAT
TN do I'm an old woman and not
likely to live the year out Dr' baiu'
win saws there isn't SOUND organ III
nv shriveled old body. II you anu
Dan are certain you're goin' to get my
property you'll feel more ike getIh
married than If you're not. A plrd III
the hand is worth two In the bush.
.I,u leave you property worth Slo'-
600 ON condition that you take care
me for the few months l have 10 I'VE.
You bind yourselves to give me SooV
q vear. The money is invested ut lha''
so vou'u not be out a cent, and wheh
I'm buried you'll have the whole
thing"
Dsn had a salary of $1,000 a year.
bnt with nothing laid up he had de-
cIined 70 marry Miranda, who hau
nothing. until he should make some &C
cumuIation. This offer OF the aunt
gave him courage, and the pair nav
ing taken over the property ana slgfleu
a bond TO pay Mrs. Quackenbos S3oo
wear so long as she lived, were mar
Rod A part Of the estate was the
dwelling in which the old woman lived
Reinp too large for her, she moved out
IN snend the rest Of her days with
sister, and the bridal couple moved H.
Now. this was ali excellent arrange
ment. 1t gave the young couple con-
fidence they would not otherwise nave
felt. But they were prevented from
making any use Of the property until
II was unencumbered by the annuity
Dan was disposed to refrain from en-
croachipg upon the estate, but Miriam
da needed this and needed that, ano
when her husband objected she would
say that her aunt was getting worse
every day and surely couldn't live the
month out. Then Dan would yield
and the desired articles would be
bought.
But the old lady didn't die. Aftel
living supposedly at the point OF deatf
for a long while she suddenly got on
of bed and seemed more clipper thar
ever. Indeed, she announced that sh'
was disinclined to NOPE and was go
ing to start a chicken farm. This sh'
did In a small way, and the interes
she took in Il improved her health
amazingly.
Meanwhile Mr.. and Mrs. Perkin
were having a hard time to get on
The Quackenbos property gave then
no income and had been an induce
ment to spend money that did no
come In. as had been expected. Chi
dren came to them, and 1t seemed tn
more children and the older and NOR
experienced they grew the more vigoi
GUS the old lady became. or cours
they could not object to her remainin
alive, but she spoke to them on tn
subject thus:
Reckon you two think I'm goin' {
live forever. 1t amt my fault
don't want to hang on any longer. II
ready to go any time. After all,
won't do you any harm. You're ecoI
; omizin' at a time when you ought
economic, and you'll reap the benef
Of it all after I'm gone"
Then the couple would look at eac
other and sigh, knowing that the
debts had already nearly eaten up I'll
whole expected property.
The old lady hung on till the Pc
kins' debt exactly balanced the SIC
600 they had taken in exchange for IL
annuity. Then she died. They pal
the funeral expenses-$300-which lie
them in debt by that amount.
Considering how unfortunate the
had been In the old lady's living |
long, they behaved very well. Indee
they did not blame her. They blame
themselves for having drawn upon Il
property before they possessed
They not only refrained from accu
ing Miss Quackenbos from designed
a drawing them into a trap, but spoil
q kindly Of her both in the domestic q
Gle and to others.
Having buried the old lady, they p
the property they had taken from b
in the market to sell to pay their deb
Then one day they went to her gus
tiers to remove to their house the fe
belongings she had left Among the
articles they brought away
box. 1t was locked, and they did q
find the key, but since there seem
to be something In 1t Dan pried
open. Within they found a bundle
papers and pass books. Miranda ope
ed one Of the books and found that
showed a credit at a savings bank
S937.56. Then she opened another, a
1t showed a credit Of S2,74218. A thi
more than doubled these two togeth,
| Dan unfolded a document, whi
| proved to be a deed to a dwelling a
/ another to a business block. All Il
I property was In Miss Quackenb
name. The Perkins couple began
open their eyes. The old lady had e
IDENTIFY possessed more property tn
she had conveyed to them. But W
had inherited what these vouch,
stood for?
They began to empty the box In
~ search for a will. Pass books, dee
certificates Of stock and bonds W.
N4l- = a