The Coolidge examiner. [volume] (Coolidge, Ariz.) 1930-current, 1932-01-29

AhS W NOhLSSS. LSI SAl uOhh Oh
the bench. If you had come a fort
night ago could have shown you
some fine dahlias. We feared frost
| and cut them all. 1t was good
garden year. Tomatoes? Well, you'd
never believe the tomatoes. Agnes
has the cellar full of them in cans
| and crooks. Tomato butter in the
crooks. Agnes is my wife. I'm
rather impressed by that when l
say it. You see, she's been my wife
three months. | suppose one gets
over being unduly impressed, but 1t
| doesn't seem possible now"
Tell me, Mr.. Turner" said Stan
ton, why you didn't contest your
fathers will. Most sons would
have done so. Courts aren't easily
persuaded to set wills aside, but
your fathers was so eccentric that
it might have been regarded as bad
public policy to let it stand"
But why should have done so,
Lieutenant" the boy asked. MY
father knew what he wanted to do.
| liked him. He was always consid-
crate of me. He made all his money
himself. He left me ample for Sc
curity and comfort. If | wanted
more | should be obliged to get 1t
myself. 1 know he loved money,
but he loved earned money. | dis
appointed him. You mustn't think
he was bitter about it. He was en-
inently reasonable. was what l
was. He was what he was. He'd
have liked a son who could have
stepped out with him. You know.
a fellow who would have been ber-
serker when he was berserker.
wasn't that fellow. He had to swal-
low his disappointment and go his
way, while | went mine"
HE had some compelling reason
for making this will. Do you know
what 1t WASP
Not as much as you'd like to
have me. Here, you see, is one con-
sequence Of my being the kind of
son | was. was not much in my
fathers confidence. | suppose he
wanted these men to make one an
other miserable. He may have
thought or have known that they
would try to kill one another"
But you don't know why? You
don't know what they did to him?"
Il don't, not in a satisfactory
way. l know he nearly died years
ago from exposure in a jungle, Pan
anna or maybe Peru. What he was
doing there / don't know, but you
may be sure it had something to
do with money. | think he had
been deserted by men with whom
he was associated or whom he had
employed. There were a great many
ventures in his life which might
have made him hate men. He hated
quickly and hard and long. There's
my wife in the doorway now. oh,
Agnes"
"Yes, Bill"
"Come on out. You'll want to see
Agnes, Lieutenant"
A young woman came toward the
garden as Stanton stood up. She
was comely and smiling.
my wife, Lieutenant" said the
boy. agnes, this is Lieutenant
Stanton of the Chicago police, actu-
ally of the Chicago police, where
they need them. We've been talk
ing, as you'd guess. of my fathers
will. Let's sit down again. Maybe
you've heard that father did not
like Agnes. That wasn't true. He
did, but when he saw her 1t was
confirmation of what he already
knew about me. | never was going
to die in a Panama jungle. !
wasn't going to be in the whirl of
anything. SO he passed US up. He
knew neither of us ever would even
ride a horse across country. He
was fair enough to admit that some
people must be like that. One hap
pened to be his son and another was
to be his daughter-in-law."
Lieutenant Stanton looked at the
young wife inquiringly.
I've never been quite so tolerant
Of Bills father as he is" she said.
II feel as Bill does as to our share
Of the will. It's enough. l prefer
Bill to go the rest Of his way on this
own feet. But the other intention Of
the will-it's been terrible"
"He had a reason said the boy.
I'm not soft that way. I've no
doubt the men deserve whatever
they do to one another"
Even now" the lieutenant sug-
gested, 1.-The courts might set the
will aside in your favor. There
have been three murders. There
are probably two more to come"
NO" said the boy, Il wouldn't in
terfere if l could"
But, Bill" said the young wom-
an, laying her hand on his arm. ~
feel that we're sharing responsible
ity if we neglect something we