The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1917-07-19

haste, but my objection tended - 1on
vince the man that i was mal,,N on'
bona fide transaction. a
II need time to think this over. /,
said. 1
And to make arrangements n A..
me. Suppose We meet a few Al
hence what is to prevent your hav,rn'
force on hand to take the will w,theua
giving me the note? No; this ma.,ut
must go through, if it does 60 tbro S.ser
between you and me alone and imma
diately. When it is finished thera n,,,,
be no proof that you signed the M ~
under duress." AO'e
"a note" ! said, must be in n,r
ment for something"
II have drawn it to read. For ma
consideration OF his relinquishing ~
claims on the Bradford estate,p :"
"But the will being producad -
have no claim on the Bradford estosas
"The will will not have been nro
duced when the note is signed"
You should have demanded cash.
You have no cash. Besides. th,.
matter must be settled secretly and :,
once. Delay would be fatal to men
Suppose after have received tbo
estate / decline to pay the note on the
ground that the transaction is crimi.
nal?"
I'm that case you will not long enjoy
your property"
had been inclined to think his caso
very weak; but, considering that he
was, or supposed he was, dealing with
a girl who would not care to live IN far
TOR Of her life, changed my opinion.
"But why" I asked, interested mora
and more in his plan, would it not be-
wiser for you to destroy the win and
inherit half the estate as heir-at-laww
"That question / decline to answer
There may be number OF reasons.
may know of another will that can.
not control and which is sure TO be
produced. My uncle did not trust me
and might have put q duplicate will In
some ones hand to be used in case I
captured or disputed the one he had
made. 1 have no knowledge of such a
will. simply state the case to you
alphabetically"
There was no doubt the rascal had
thought It all out and had provided
for every possible contingency. What
was to do? Delay would be as dan.
gerous to Miss Thurber as to me- /
resolved to go with him and take ad-
vantage Of any favorable circumstance
that might arise. So long as he thought
I was Miss Thurbcr had great nd.
vantage Of him. i had thick veil on
my hat, but in the park did not put Il
over my face. Later, IL obliged to face
the light it might avail me.
i accompanied my man to a car wait.
ing without the park. We entered II,
and he drove away. Presently he stop
ped and told me he must blindfold me.
After objecting consented, and after
that did not know where we went
When we reached our destination he
helped me out of the car and guided
me up few steps into house. When
be removed the bandage from my eyes
we were standing in furnished room.
1t was dimly lighted, but i put my
hands to my eyes to cover my face, pre-
tending that the transition from dark
ness to light was painful. Neverthe-
less caught glimpse Of table with
writing materials on it in the center
Of the room.
When took my hands from my eyes
turned my face from the light. I did
not know how well the man knew
Miss Thurber, but I did not wish him
10 see my features until i could no
onger avoid giving him an opportunity
20 discover his mistake. Meanwhile be
had unlocked a drawer In bureau and
aiken out document, which surmis-
ID to be the will. What appeared to
De note lay on the table. He was IN
'olding the document, and surmised
to hold il up for me to In
Ipect. In another moment he would
doubtless call on me to do so and
would see my features.
While his eyes were bent on the docu-
nent I caught sight Of the letters
Last will and testament" printed on
t. This was enough for me. deter
mined to risk its being what wanted.
When he turned from the paper to me
lie looked into the muzzle of my re
oliver within an inch of his nose.
Or course he was armed. But what
Use is a weapon which costs man bis
lfe IL he makes motion to use it,"
Drop that document on the table"
aid in my own husky voice.
Surprise, irritation, horror, were writ
en- on his face. He dare not disoDey.
lie tossed the will on the table, and !,
ever taking my eye from his for an
Instant, picked it up, taking the un-
igned note at the same time. Then
egan TO back out OF the room.
acked into hall and out through
oor, he following me. alert TO take ao-
antage of my changing my glance for
n instant to draw a weapon. i was
bliged to back into the unknown; bur
aying come over the ground even
lough blindfolded, had some idea Oh
and got safely down the steps. on 70
,e sidewalk and kept on till backed
p against an automobile.
The prohlap wac paty IN ypf into IL