Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1917-02-16
ABit Of Conclusive
Evidence
By WILLIAM CHANDL Err

we tried running it ourselves, but it
soon became evident that we two men
must have housekeeper.
Mrs. Jennings-she was a widow
was engaged.
rather had retired from business
and devoted himself to the care of his
estate, having sort of office at home
III when was desk he had used when
ne was manufacturer. He was very
particular about his stationery. using
certain kind of paper on which he
had his name and address printed in
Dlue INK. He was very crotchety about
the use or this paper and if called
upon to write anything when not at
MS desk would send for some of IT.
remember | once asked him to give me
an order for some securities he desired
me to sell for him and when 1 handed
him pen and sheet of my paper he
required me to go to his desk and get
some of his own. l mention this, for
1t is an important feature in my story.
when l married proposed to father
that bring my wife to our home and
turn ever the housekeeping to her
But he said there would be friction.
He had always been head of his house.
and a woman usually wishes to be
mead OF her house. My wife would
not be content to be his housekeeper.
She would wish to be her own house
Keeper. l was very sorry for this, for
l saw no reason why the three of us
should not live together pleasantly and
comfortably.
However, Mrs Jennings seemed to
me TO be an excellent woman and took
such good care of father that l felt
conSoled at leaving him in her cafe
Besides keeping house for him, she
helped him with his correspondence
and other matters pertaining to the
care Of his estate. All this was of
especial Importance because my wife
and l were to go around the globe for
a wedding trip and were to sojourn a
year on our way back in Munich. My
wife was devoted to music and design
ed to take a course Of instruction there
We sailed from San Francisco and
received no word from home till we
reached Japan, where l was handed a
cablegram stating that my father had
been taken ill while we were ON the
ocean and had died. 1t seemed neces-
sary for me to return at once, but it
would be a great disappointment to
my wife to go with me, and she would
not let me go without her. The upshot
of the matter was that cabled Jim
Wilson, a cousin Of mine, to pay off
Mrs. Jennings and close the house.
I heard nothing from Wilson in re-
ply to my cablegram for months.
Then he wrote me that he had been
absent when my message came and as
soon as he returned had fastened to
comply with my request. Whereupon
Mrs. Jennings had handed him a bill
of sale of all my fathers property exc
cuted a month before his death. She
refused to leave the house and claim
ed possession Of everything which by
my fathers death was mine.
1t was plain that l was not a good
Judge of human nature. l had certain
ly been deceived in the hOusekeeper
who had evidently prepared to beat me
out of the whole or at least part of
lily DEOD6IlS.. ulu hOI hliOh "ASIASA
, the bill of sale would stand, but sure
" expected an expensive lawsuit or d
compromise in which l might have to
pay largely.
Of course there was nothing to be
done but go home at once. My wife
went with me, and in due time we land
ed in America. / refrained from see
ing Mrs. Jennings until l had consult
ed my attorney, and after an interview
he asked her by telephone where We
might see the bill Of sale by which she
claimed my fathers property. She re-
ferred US to her lawyer. To him we
went. and he showed us the document
1t was written in writing like my ia
theirs, though his hand seemed to have
trembled when he wrote it. 1t simply
stated that for and in consideration OF
81 he sold to Mrs. Sarah Jennings al
his property On asking why he had
done this we were informed that she
had taken care of him during his last
illness, his own son having deserted
him to go on trip abroad. He had
therefore given her his property in
stead of leaving it to her by will.
And now l must return to my ia
theirs punctiliousness with regard tC
his stationery. 1 noticed at once that
this bill of sale was not written on the
paper he always used. This excited
a suspicion that it was not genuine
AS to the handwriting and the sigma
ture, could find no fault with them.
We demanded the right to have The
document examined by experts II
chirography. This was acceeded tt
with the usual result. The experts
disagreed. Then 1 called in a maj
who was familiar with the manufac
ture of paper. He examined the papel
on which the bill was written and b!
its texture, water lines, etc, prOnounc
ed it be of a lot manufactured by {
certain paper company. When a sam
pie of this lot of paper was submitted
to its manufacturers they said tina
it had been put out to the trade on I
date two months after my father
death.
Here was a clear case Of forgery