The Winslow mail., 1918-06-07
SAME OLD CUPID
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BY ALICE KILLlAN.
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Copyright, 1918, Western Newspaper Union.)
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Copyright. 1918. Western Newspaper Union.)
There's no other satisfactory way
out Of it," gasped the old Scotchman,
Roderick MacTavish on his deathbed,
land rely on you to see to it that
my wishes are respected"
"You mean that having left half your
fortune to Robert Brinsley and half to
Edith Allen, the whole to 60 to James
Stirling unless the two parties of the
first part keep the property undivided
by marriage, your wish is that they
shall comply with the terms Of your
will, and inherit the estate"
"That is my DESIRE" said the Scotch
man, "but put in codicil that if you
succeed in inducing the couple to ac-
cept the provision and" inherit as man
and wife you are to receive twenty
five thousand dollars from the estate"
lost no time in inserting this be-
quest and in getting the will signed
and witnessed. MacTavish died within
twenty-four hours after it was exc
cuted.
It would require hundred pages OF
typewriter matter to explain why the
old Scotchman wished his property to
go to these two persons. Therefore l
shall not attempt it in this very brief
story. / had twenty-five thousand dol
lars at stake and as soon as the will
was offered for probate / made a pre-
liminary visit to each of the parties
to see what chance there was in the
matter.
"How much is the legacy?" asked
Brinsley.
1.-TWO hundred thousand dollars"
''My half would be a hundred thou
sand. Do you suppose I'm going to get
myself tangled up with a woman for
that. I have three times that amount
already"
Miss Allen had no fortune and she
very much desired the legacy of the
half of it. "Why can't we be married."
she asked me, part Immediately, and
when we receive the estate divide it
and get q divorce"
"You can," was my reply.
I went back to Brinsley and sub
mitted this proposition. He would
have nothing to do with it. l showed
him that by refusing he was keeping
a woman out of one hundred thousand
dollars. Bob was fine fellow and he
said at once: "You go tell her that II
she will agree to the divorce the mo-
ment I say the word, I'll marry her
and she may keep the whole of the
two hundred thousand dollars"
That he might not have time to
change his mind I broke the speed law
In getting to Miss Allen and Informed
her Of the generous offer. She was
amazed.
"Are you sure that proposition came
from MANI" she gasped.
I assured her of the fact and re-
ceived her consent to draw up gem
tleman's and lady's agreement that
after a marriage between the two nei-
ther would claim any matrimonial priv
llege, and neither would object to o
divorce when desired by the other.
What pleased me almost as well as
the money I would get out of the trans
action was that the stubborn MacTav"
lsh would after all fail in trying to
have his way after he was dead.
asked the bride and groom few
days before the wedding If they would
like to meet before being married, but
neither thought that anything would
be gained by seeing one another. l be-
lieved Brinsley but not Miss Allen. In
the first place she was curious, as
women naturally are, and in the Sec
ond she was unable to conceal from
me the fact that Bob's generosity had
had serious effect upon her. She said
that If the groom-to-be had desire to
see her she had no objection to meet
ing him. Otherwise she would be con
tent with his society for the ten min
utes that would be required to &C
through the ceremony.
The wedding was to take place a
five o'clock In the afternoon, Brinsley
having an appointment at his club fol
O seven o'clock dinner. / got all the
= papers drawn and ready for signature
and at four called at BOb's office will
them. I was to act as attorney fol
both and to read the documents tC
them just before the ceremony. Bol
and jumped into taxi and rode t.
Miss Aliens. There 1 introduced the
contracting parties, they sat down b.
table and read the papers aloud.
The reading took up half an hour, a
tha end Of which time q DarSOn VIII,
was waiting was called in and the cere
mony performed. While my eyes wer
fixed on the documents of course
could not see the bride and groom
During the ceremony 1 noticed tha
Bob had lost something of his san
froid; the bride was inscrutable.
At the conclusion of the service Bo
and I were about to leave, when tn
bride said she would like few word