Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1919-02-06

sation during the hour that elapse
after the arrival Of her train and th
departure of the stage that was
carry her to the old Durham estate
Madge wanted to find out what pee
pie around there thought Of the vii
so she did some tactful pumping witt
out, OF course, letting the station agen
know she was Madge Durham.
To be sure, old Miss Durham hat
been an odd character, all the Dun
hams were little queer. she was as
sured by the station agent, but no ont
expected she was so paisley mean as
all that. She looked goOd-natureC
enough In spite of her old age-and
she was nearly a hundred when she
died, and seemed TO have her wits
with her, too in most things, though
she surely had shown weak-minded-
ness in that will She had left the
entire fortune-and it was a lot more
than folks ever thought--to her niece,
Elizabeth, and Elizabeth Durham al
ready possessed property that brought
her an income about ten times larger
than she could ever want.
"Was there any one else who might
have had lt?" asked Madge with an air
of only half-hearted interest.
To be sure there was-there was
grandniece and a grandnephew-
lived a good ways Off Stanley Taylor
was n professor and the old maid was
a school ma'am, and they were both
as poor as church mice. They ought
to have come in for some Of It, but
the old lady had cut them off. People
knew that, but they hoped she had re-
Tented. Might at least have given
little to the Old Ladies' Home.
Didn't she give those poor rela-
tives anything?" asked Madge.
The station agent chuckled. Well,
yes, there was sort of a provision for
them. They had been left the old lady's
library, a whole lot of old books that
wouldn't sell for enough to pay the
trip they'd have to take to get them.
The books were to be divided equally
between the two, and they had been
sent for by Elizabeth Durham now,
who was executrix as well as practi-
cally sole beneficiary, to come and Sc
lect them.
II wonder" unused Madge, whether
there was any reason why the old lady
left them out of her WHIP"
The station agent lowered his voice.
That there was. Most folks don't
NOW It," he confded, "but the old |
ady had set her heart on having her |
.ouldn't get them TO do it, and that |
oiled her up so she never had any |
Use for them. She had them out at
he old place some 10 years back and
ried TO make a match, but somehow
be Teller he wasn't of the marrying
ind, and the girl-well, 1 guess she
-as cut out TO be an old maid"
Madge cOlored slightly. It had taken
n hour to get this much information
'om the local informant, and she took
er seat in the stage to continue her
ip to the home of her late great-aunt
toward her What if she
as cut out to be an old maid-hadn't
unit Jane herself been an old maid
nd wasn't Aunt Elizabeth an old
aid? Even a very little fraction of
e fortune would have seemed like
ealth TO her, and instead all she got
as half of lot of dusty old books,
at would have to be haggled over
tn Stanley Taylor Madge felt
mellow that if Stanley were at all
nsiderate he would waive his claim
the books. But no such good for
ne was in store for her. as he had
lived the day before and was al
ldy established in the gloomy old l
ok room in the Durham homestead
king up his mind as to which of
books he would claim. v
rhe only hospitality offered TO q
dge when she came was that of an ;
housekeeper Aunt Elizabeth might Il
-e come over from her nearby Il
ntry place to have made matters :
title more cheerful for Madge and
nley, hut she had merely left word
h the housekeeper to provide for
II Temporal WdutS anu 10 ASK lllplN / n
proceed with the division Of the he
ks and to say that the lawyer ti
lid be over the next day to settle ia
legal phrases Of the arrange III
H." si
nd they got right to work at the ne
ks. They at least agreed, appar- ae
Y. on a lack Of disposition TO so a
ility. de
have been doing what J could WI
bout you" remarked Stanley as I'M
] as they had got together in the TIA,
< room. 81 made pile Of books lut
: that could not possibly interest sci
will take them, and over there 1t
some that could not possibly in kel
st me-" tao
adge looked AT the first pile. There is
an old edition of Fielding. Smol- eOi
and Richardson. stack of French en-
s and philosophers and some GIL
" tones Of history that had APP
'ntly never been opened 10 the