Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1916-03-16
CHAPTER Xxx (Continued.)

Silva shrugged his shoulders.
Il have understood so" he said, but
l know nothing bou it. beyond what
Mr.. Vaughan himself told me-
What was that"
That it was his intention to give
This place as a monastery for the study
OF our religion, and to endoW it,
Did he mention the amount of the
endowment
He asked me. not long ago, if ST.
000. 600 would be sufficient
Had he drawn up a deed of gift"
II do not know"
. made a will?'
Again Silva shrugged inditferently
to dictate that he was also ignorant on
that point, and l turned to Miss
Vaughan.
"If there is n will" L asked, where
would it probably be-"
'"There is a safe here she said, in
which my father kept his papers of
value" and h went to the wall and
swung out a hinged section OF shelly
ing. The door of a safe appeared be-
hind it.
l approached and looked at it, then
tried the door, but it was locked.
III open his, we must know the
combination" l said: ''or else we shall
have to get an expert"
II know the combination" she broke
in: ut Is " =
But l stopped her.
MY dear Miss Vaughan" / laughed,
"one doesn't 80 around proclaiming the
combination Of q safe. How do you
happen TO know it?"
safe for him.
Does anyone else know itT'
IT do not think so"
We'll, suppose we see what il in the
SAFE" ] suggested. and. as she knelt
before Ii, turned away. l., at least, did
r,@t ~-IcL <n Srnur $1,o coordination
Tha Silva already knew it ] accepted
as certain.
I heard the twirling of the knob, n
a sharp click as the bolts were thrown
back. Then walked to Miss
! Vaughan's side and knelt beside her.
into the usual compartments, one OF
them equipped with a Yale lock. h
key was in the lock, and l turned it,
swung the little Goor open, and drew
out the drawer which lay behind 1T.
IF there is a will. it is probably
here" I aid "let us see" and l car
ried 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 l looked into the drawer,
I gave q little gasp of establishment,
for it was almost filled with packets of
bills. There were five Of them, neatly
| ealed in of the National City
bank, and each endorsed to contain
$4,000.
why liz your father require all this
money!" ] asked, but Miss Vaughan
shook her head.
He always kept one there" she
said, though J. never knew the
amount
/ glanced at the yogi, but his revery
remained unbroken. Then l laid the
packets on the table and dipped deep
er into the drawer. There were Two
bank books, some memoranda OF Sc
curities, a small cash book, and, at the
very bottom, an unsealed envelope en-
dorsed. Last viii and testament of
Worthington Vaughan"
Here we are" / said, took 1t out, and
replaced the rest OF the contents. "Shal
we read it now?"
Eyes, ] should like TO read it," she
answered quietly.
The document was a short one. 1t
had evidently been drawn by Vaughan
himself, for it was written simply and
without legal phrases. 1t had been
witnessed by Henry and Katherine
Schneider, and was dated only a week
previously--but three days before the
murder.
who are these witnesses ?"1 asked.
They are the cook and the gard
ener."
DO you recognize your fathers writ
ing?"
as to that"
1t was a peculiar writing, and a very
characteristic one; not easy to read
until one grew accustomed to IT. But
at the end Of q few minutes l 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,
of the ninth degree, to whom / owe
my souls salvation" the bequest to be
used for the purpose OF founding a
monastery for the study Of the doc
trtnes Of Saivaism, and as al asylum
for all true believers. The remainder
of his estate was left absolutely to his
daughter, to dispose Of as she saw fit.
TT is, however, my earnest wish" the
will concluded, that my daughter
Marjorie should enter upon the way,
and accept "a high destiny which the
master offerssher 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 I glanced at Miss
Vaughan. Her eyes were fixed: her
face was rapt and shining.
She felt my gaze upon her, and
turned to face me.
~ your attorney, MISS vaughan, J
said, at is my duty to advise you that
this will would probably not hold in
law. ! think it would be comparative
ly easy to convince any court that your
father was not of sound mind when
he drew it. You see. Senior Silva"
added, that there Is at once a conflict
Of interests"
But Silva shook his head with a little
smile.
'"There is no conflict" he said. IF
Miss Vaughan does not approve her
fathers wishes. they are as though
they were mott"
II do approve them" the girl cried
p~assionately. her hands against her
heart. Il do approve them"
"All Of them" ! asked.
She swung full upon me, her eyes
af1ame.
Yes, all of them" she cried. "Oh.
Master, receive me-" and she flung
herself on her knees by Silva's chair.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE VISION IN THE CRYSTAL.