The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-05-03
Chapter Is
Mental Incompetence

IN I1OO1 WENT up lTOIIl TIE Jul
~ at the Majors statement that
Toni conducted a lemonade stand
at the age of eleven. The bailiH
raped for order. The Judge
raped for order. Bartell's face
went into his hands and Dotty's
shoulders shook.
Bartell arose. his cheeks scar
let. Your honor. the incident is
completely irrelevant. except that
it shows an inclination for bust
ness at that early age"
Proceed with your witness,
Mr.. Toland. and kindly ask him
to keep to more pertinent testi-
mony." ordered the Judge.
"Proce john" murmured
Austin. wiping his glasses furi-
ously, land keep to incidents of
later dates"
Very WELL" agreed the Major
in an injured tone. But that did
show that she did not revere
other peoples property. I always
had lemon and claret before re-
firing"
The Major continued, and as he
talked, Tomi'S head dropped low
er and lower.
There was the time she had
given the Majors second best
overcoat to man who was look
ing for work and needed some
thing to cover his shabby suit
The time Great-aunt Hannah
had outfitted her for the school
semester. then allowed her to
visit Toland in Cleveland. only
to have her return in slip and
sports coat. The clothes of the
little girl down the block had
been destroyed by fire.
On he went until Bartell
jumped up. Your Honor, this
only proves conclusiVely the
warm. generous heart of Miss To-
land. and it is not Miss Toland
who needs defense. This is con-
test of Timothy Toland'S last will
and testament. My worthy oppo-
nents are basing their contest
upon the mental incompetency,
averred. of the deceased. by at
tempting to show he would not
have left the property to one
equally incompetent. So far the
witness has not proven mental in
competency"
Major Toland stood up and. ig-
noring the Judge. roared. 1T
proves she has a soft brain as well
as a soft heart. She'll let any fell
low with a hard luck story work
her out of this money. Timothy
knew that, and that is why he
sent you, with your good looks,
to destroy any Toland participa-
ton in his estate"
Above the Majors voice came
the ramming sound of the gavel
and the Judges voice. Austin
Toland, if you cannot restrain
this witness l will call officers
who CAM.
The Major was restrained. He
was also dismissed.
Dispositions of each member of
the family were read, then Aus
tin sighed YEARLY that he would
rest"
Your Honor" Bartell was up
again. his charm reflected in the
faces of the jury, in the relaxa-
ton of the Judge Il will. though
it is not necessary, prove the eff
cheney of the young lady. viii
call to the stand the persons she,
of her own volition, has hired to
carry out this project. And I viii
admit here that | fought her each
time. l hadn't her vision.
"Her executive ability is shown
by her insistence upon hiring the
best ranaculturist obtainable.
can take you to the farm. and by
exhibiting photographs Of it as it
was prior to her assuming tenn
porary charge, two months ago.
show the Improvements she has
made within that short time.
will prove that by making Miss
Toni Toland his heir, the late
Timothy Toland established his
mental competency"
Presentation of the witnesses
was deferred until the afternoon
session and a recess called. Toni
was first out of the courtroom,
Setlrrying through the corridors
to the haven of her car. AS swift
ly as noon traffic would allow, she
drove home, to hear the tele-
phone ringing as she hurried Up
the steps.
go on and ring" she spat al
the inStrume nt. you folks
thought you'd be through testI-
tying and back here, by noon
didn't you? You'd have been
ready with explanations of shop
ping. or something. Well. you're
going to have nice time explain
ing this evening"
Heartrending Sobs
AND because she had been
"A trained by Great-aunt Han
nah, she removed her suit. hunf
it up carefully. and donned a robe
before throwing herself on the
chdiSe Tongue to cry.
The Major had used that child.
iSh story to turn a jury against
her. And / only tried to make
money because / heard August;
say she couldn't have new sui
because of the expense Of a child.
Toni sat up and h1opped at hel
eyes and nose. why couldn't thes
ever understand? And why dom
they want me to have this place
when they don't need it,"
And neither the Major nor Aus
tin had come to see her. They
hadn't even telephoned.
Allen had sounded nice, but a.
Dotty had said, he could turn hi
charm on and off as it suited him
1t suited him to keep the viii IN
tact, or he would surely lose il
the long run.
Had he been truly interested i