Hungry Horse news and Columbian. [volume] (Columbia Falls, Mont.) 1946-1948, 1947-08-08
CHAPTER III

breath, and her gaze on ToC
. deepened. "Then Miss Tillsit die
r You couldn't call it unexpecte
q exactly, when she was eighty-tw
and had had one stroke alread.
: but we all-missed her. Gilbel
felt very badly. She was nearer
= him than anyone in the family
e and he'd been like son to her, di
!; business for her, that sort @
i thing. The very morning she die
he'd been in to the county seat o.
:. an errand at the bank. He''
brought her something. 1 - h
) never said what, out of her safe
deposit box. I saw hin. for a few
. minutes at noon, and he-jus
mentioned it,"
"1e saw her in the morning
them" Todd said. almost absently
The pink flush burned again ir
Nella Peabody's cheeks. eyes. He
as l remember, he said he might
go in again that afternoon, for a
minute. Miss Adeline had seemed
preoccupied in the morning, and
rather tired.
81 remember that afternoon. 1t
wa so lovely and hot, and the
trees we're all out in full leaf. Peo-
pie were worried about the situa-
ton in France, but somehow on a
day like that you could tell your
self that it was far away on the
other side of the world and could
not touch you. :.
1T wasn't until about seven that
heard Miss Adeline was sinking.
They'd got hold of Horace and
Mary Helen, and Susie had called
DR.. Crane, but he was out in the
country attending to a difficult
confinement, and he didn't get here
until eight or so. She died just
few minutes after that"
1.-THE doctor was present when
she died. Well, that seems normal
enough, so far" Todd said. He
sounded casual as ever, but his at
tention had not wavered. It was
almost, Georgine thought, as if he
were listening more to the over
tones of Mrs. Peabody's voice than
to the words of her story. "What
made you think there was any
thing wrong? Miss Tillsit hadn't
by any chance, she hadn't been
threatening to change her will?"
"Oh, no." Mrs. Peabody said
quickly, seeming relieved. "Her
will had been drawn up years be-
fore, and everyone knew what was
in it. Most of it they could have
guessed even if she hadn't told
them, because it was traditional
in the Tillsit family that the or
chard and farm property should
stay in the oldest generation. That
part of her holdings went to the
Judge, of course. And we'd-Gil-
bert and l had known for a long
time that he, Gilbert, was to have
this house and all its contents,
Mary Helen was to have the jewel
ry in the safe-deposit box, and
there was some money for Horace
at least, there had been, but we
all knew he'd persuaded her to
invest in the drugstore for him.
You might call it borrowing on his
Inheritance, l suppose. No, we all
lnew how she'd left her property.
was disappointed. There
wasn't any-hurry, you can see
hat, can't your"
None at all?" said Todd, as if
o himself.
Mrs. Peabody laid down the nap
Kin carefully. Her voice was not
quite steady as she replied. eff
lnyol,e had wanted his inheritance
'adly, it would have been Gilbert.
t meant that he and 1 could be
married at last, that we'd be sure
# roof over our heads, and fur
liture, and all the things we'd
'een too poor to buy before. He
vas just getting out of debt for
"a family illness, and all l had
vas what l earned. And can
ouch for it, Mr.. McKinnon, l can
romise you faithfully that we'd
ever have been in that much of
hurry, never"
of course not" said Todd. His
eep-set eyes were still intent on
er face. But, d'you know, | still
ont see why there should have
cen any suspicion. How did they
link the old lady had died?"
AT first, everyone simply
bought it was another stroke.
fterward-poison," said Nella
eabody softly.
Todd kept bland eyes on the Gig
rette as he asked, What kind of
olson did people suspect was used
n the old Lady,"
81 don't know. How could l
now? She looked as if she'd sunk
Ito a coma, and died naturally.
ut few months afterward, the
lie queer feeling began. People
ere talking, but never to me
ever to Gilbert or me. l can't tell
on how knew that, maybe you
list absorb that sort of thing
your pores, but there was
story" She leaned forward,
Iasping her hands on the edge of
he table. Above the blue china
nd the yellow checked tablecloth,
er face showed white and
inched.
THE Judge lives on the farm,
GU know, with the farmhands and