Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-10-16

made a tipSop soldier By the time the
war blew up, But you ought to thank
your 70 H.Sss,,, stsrs that you never got a' iar
II wanted to get into IT,
"A war medal to hging home and
haunt at the villagers. You didn't
want mud and death you wanted CLAM.
our, the excitement Of crossing tho
ocean, Of seeing. foreign cities, the
,Scs, mca' s:pple pie, as live, with c'nn"'
And q second piece, II you want 1t,
Mr," said Mrs. Horne. Dustlins out.
would you like another bottleT"
asked bancroft, with sly intent.
Would you? No, young man, you
could not yet me drunk under four
bottles, and by that time you would be
under tho table. ! Use my education,
and Il tells me ware Of strong drink:
A little exhilaration now and then will
not hurt any one. But how few Of
us ore strong enough to halt this stdc
9th Of the .. line' Would you like another
NO" said Bancroft, readily admit
Ting his failure, but free Of chngrin.
this money!"
Bancroft's hand went to his brow,
his fingers into his thick brown hair.
Il don't know. Spend some Of 1t, give
some Of 1t away. I don't want to
waste 1t; / want to do good with It,
nnd ! want to have "a decent good
time, too. But how and where to be.
gin-.-thnt's what bewiidcrs me. With
an Income of ten thousand year,
should be very happy. But more than
z quarter Of a million, when twenty.
dollar bill htill lookn es h;0 mn NIL oasit.
uoors! II you had set your adventure
at million, l might have jumped
MY mistake" said the other, dryly.
You can still offer il, however. You
are a free agent. Your fathers will
was without beQucsts or conditions"
Il can spend It like a sailor, or 70
on ON, ,sses!eunulatins e! 1t. Did you see tho
No; but was given a sist Of It,"
It's q literary curiosity one Of the
shortest Wills on record. Whenever I
n tesi myself getting fogsy I take out MY
copy and read 1t. Here, read 1t your
He sailed the envelope across the
table. The adventurer stared at It
rather stonily. -. =
Go. on. read IT," said Bancroft,
imRatiently. It's worth reading" :
Inus urged. the stranger drew the
| envelope toward him and extracted the
instrument, and sm0othed 1t out upon
the tablecloth. - = ;. -
Know ALL BY THESE PRES.
ENTs: -
Being hale and sound mentally,
whatever my body may be, L leave
to my son.. Collingswood Jeremiah
bancroft. all my real and personal
property, Internationally, without let
or hindrance. There win be no debts
to pay. had twenty odd years Of
intensive pleasure in gathering these
funds and properties. My son, II he
70 pleases. may dissipate 1t in as
many months.
Copy s1LAS BANCROFT.
mo debts to pay" mused the ad.
venturer.. his rowing glance touching the
chairs, the books in the room beyond,
the vases. He returned the will to its
envelope.
Tho Beginning Of Adventure
mo bequests. Even Mrs. Horne,
who has been housekeeping since was
baby, received nothing. All mine
Bitterness, eh? The wine had rent
a corner Of tho reserve. The bow was
bitter In his soul? So much the bet.
ter: In New York. with this bitterness
which was bred Of loneliness, aud a
thousand temptations at his elbow.
No debts to pay!
Wei. what do you think of IT,"
asked Bancroft.
DO you want the truth; or, rather.
10 you want my honest opinion!"
"Well. then, by the way he BROUGHT
you up and by the way he flinss this
fortune at your feet, / should say that
he expected it to destroy you. ri 70
further: Suppos ina you're not Siias
Bancrofts son. What would be more
EXQUISITE than TO bring you up more or
less like a paupcr and then to destroy
you with too much money!"
No; that won't do at all. I was
porn IN this village; not the least nyS.
tery on that side. The mystery ia wbv
was brought up like a pauper ITO
quote you) and given all this money In
the end. That's the real preblem.''
1T was merely a supposition. You
asked me what l thought" Eomewhere
a clock beat out the hour. Miner
must be cn. Got to make New York
BY midnight" ."
mo train until morning"
rnOh. have a car at the curb"
The adventurer rose. ''You won't
dispose O, Of the cellar'"
Nor the library?" o..
mo. I'd hang on to that II I were
as poor as Jobs turkey. They made
1t possible for me to survive the ap-
pellation Of misers son---those books'"
When your fellow townsmen learn
the truth. they'll forgive you; and
having forgiven you. they'll fawn upon
you, And to this irony the adventurer
added: "Thc women will thrust their
daughters toward you instead of swav
from you. But remember the foolish
crow. who dropped his cheese"
Not even the usual horse. trough ma.
mortal. l owe this village nothing"
The promoter OF adventures offered no
comment. but proceeded into the Ii.
brnry for his portfolio and thence into
the hall for his hat and raincoat.
THE wind Is dying down." he ssid
but It Is still running hard"
Take along an umbrella. You can
leave 1t at the hotel"
bershoot?" ~
Take your pick. There never was
than fifty cents."N
IAN right. since you are willing to
risk 1t. But bear in mind my advice
about clearing out for few months,
There's no place like New York to hide
in. II you come to New York, look me
up at the Bolivian Emerald Company's
Offices"
II WILL" promised Bancroft care.
lessly.
The adventurer went out. and the