Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-03-15
CHAPTER Xxx ,Continucd.)

have understood So he said, but
know nothing about 1t, beyond what
Mr.. Vaughan himself told me-
What was that?'
That it was his intention to give
this place rs a monastery for the study
OF orr religion. and to cndow It,"
Die he mention the amount of the
endowment"
He asked me. not long ago. if ST.
600 600 would be sufficient"
"Ha! he drawn up a deed of gift ?'
II do not know"
q made Il will"
Again Silva shrugged indifferently
to dictate that he was also ignorant on
THAT point. and ] turned to Miss
Vaughan.
IF there is a will" ! asked. where
would it probably be-"
There is Il safe here she said, sin
which my father kept his papers of
value II she ven to the wall and
swung out a hinged section of shelly
ing. The door of q safe appeared be-
hind it.
approached and looked at it. then
tried the door. but 1t was locked.
ITO open this. we must know the
combination" said; "or else we shall
nave to get an expert
II know the combination" she broke
in: lit is = =
But ] stopped her.
My dear Miss Vaughan" 1 laughed,
"one doesn't go around proclaiming the
combination of a safe. How do you
happen to know it,"
my father often had me open the
safe for him."
doe anyone else know it"
IL 10 not think so"
We'll. suppose we see what is in the
safe" suggested. and. as she knelt
before 1T, turned away. 1, at least. did
not wish to know the combination.
| That Si1vn alro.Iv know II I ooconto6
as certain.
l heard the twirling OF the knob. and
a sharp click as the bolts We're thrown
back. Then L walked to Miss
Vaughar's side and knelt beside her.
The interior of the safe was divided
into the usual compartments, one of
them equipped with a Yale lock. The
key was i'm the lock. and ] turned it,
swung the little Goor open, n drew
gu the drawer which lay behind it.
IF there is a will. it is probably
lere." I said: let us see" and l car
lied the drawer over to the light.
Miss Vaughan followed me-. but Silva
had sunk back into his chair, and was
staring abstractedly through The open
door out into the darkness, as though
our proceedings interested him not at
all. Then. as ] looked into the drawer,
for it was almost filled with packets of
bills. There We're five of them, neatly
sealed in wrappers of the National City
bank, and each endorsed to contain
$4,000.
Why did your father require all this
money!" ] asked, but Miss Vaughan
shook her head.
"He always kept money there she
said, though i never knew the
amount"
I glanced at the yogi, but his revery
remained unbroken. Then 1 laid the
packets on the table and dipped deep
er into the drawer. There were two
curities, Il small cash book. and, at the
very bottom, an unsealed envelope en-
dorsed, Last will and testament of
Worthington Vaughan"
Here we are" l said, took it out. II
replaced the rest of the contents. Shall
we read it now?'
Yes, / should like to read it," she
answered quietly.
n document was a short one. 1t
had evidently been drawn by Vaughan
himself, for it was written simply n
without legal phrases. 1t had been
Schneider, and was dated only a week
pr~eviously-but three days before the
murder.
who are these witnesses ?"I asked.
"They are the cook and the gard
ener."
do you recognize your fathers writ
ing?"
"oh. yes: there can be no question
as to that"
1t was a peculiar writing. and a very
characteristic one; not easy to read
until one grew accustomed to 1t. But
at the end of a few minutes / had mas
tered 1t. The provisions of the will
were simple: Elmhurst and the sum of
$1,000, 900 in negotiable securities were
left absolutely to my dear and re-
vered master, Francisco Silva, priest
Of the third circle Of silva, and Yogi.
my souls salvation the beQuest to be
used for the purpose Of founding a
monastery for h study of the doc
.trines OF Saivaism, and as an asylum
for all true believers. The remainder
Of his estate was left absolutely to his
1T is. however. my wish" the
will concluded. that my daughter
Marjorie should enter upon the way,
and accept the high destiny which the
master offers her as a %priestess OF our
great Lord. May the all seeing One
guide her steps Alright"
There was a moments silence as I
finished; then ] glanced at Miss
Vaughan. Her eyes were fixed: her
face was rapt and shining.
She felt my gaze upon he-. and
turned to face me.
T0 your AtIOkucy, MISS vNu8lIdAs =
said, "it IL my duty to advise you that
this will would probably not hold in
law. / think 1t would be comparative
~ easy to convince any court that your
father was not Of sound mind when
he drew it. You see. senior Silva" I
added. that there 10 at once . conflict
! 1T interests"
But Silva shook his head with q little
smile.
There 10 no conflict" he said. "If