Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 471 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“*To Miss Janer Ear, ** Not that I am aware of, ma’am. Perhaps Mr. Hinton never spoke to you of me?” **No, I am sure he did not. So you were an acquaintance of my late husband?” ‘*I suppose from advices I have received, ma’am, that I am his heiress.”’ ‘His heiress 7’ and Mrs. Hinton looked her surprise. ** Yes, ma’am,” Af Why, surel mys dear young lady, you must be out of your head! ** But, lam not!” Janet said, spiritedly. ‘I have been notified that Mr. Hinton ieft me the bulk of his fortune, and was requested to come on and take charge of it. So, I am here.” Mrs. Hinton burst into a fit of laughter. ** Well, upon my word; this is the funniest thing I ever hear Or.” she said. ‘ Why, my dear child, my husband by his last will, made me his sole legatee. How utterly absurd for 7 a total stranger, to come here, expecting to y claim to my husband’s estate!” My came here at the solicitation of a lawyer,” Janet replied. ‘‘ Please read that!” and takin from her pocket a crumpled letter, Miss Ear handed it to the widow, Betraying some agitation, she carefully with- drew the letter from the envelope, first glancing at the ‘‘ receipt ” post-mark on the back. **'You are from Chicago?” she observed, ** Yes, ma’am,” responded Janet. The widow unfolded the sheet of paper, and lanced over the contents, which were as fol- OWS: ‘‘ Bia Brace, I. T., May Ist. **No, — Madison street, Chicago, Il.:— ** DEAR Lapy:—As the attorney and counselor of Mr. Hamilton Hinton, of Big Brace, Idaho, it be- comes my duty to give you notification that the aforesaid Mr. Hinton, whom you saved from being robbed, in Chicago, about a year ago, is dead, and his last will and testament which he left in my hands bequeaths to you the bulk of bis large fortune. You will please come to Big Brace, to assist in settling up the estate, and assume possession of that which you have inherited. Yours, respectfully, ** JOHN JONES, “Attorney & Counselor at Law,” The countenance of the Widow Hinton was the seat of varying expressions, as she perused the letter and then went over it, for a second time. ‘‘ This is very strange,” she said, finally, look- ing at Janet, ‘and as inconsistent as it isstrange, In the first lace, there is but one lawyer in Big Brace, and his name is Phineas Fink. He drew up my late husband’s last will, only a month be- fore his death. ** Tt is evident that you have been lured here by some evil disposed person, for no good pur- , for certain it is that my husband never eft you a cent.” ‘‘Mr. Hinton told me, after 1 prevented his being robbed in Chicago, that he would remem- ber me in his will!” ventured Janet. ‘*Oh! that may be, but it amounted to noth- ing. The late Mr. Hinton was an eccentric per- son, and frequentl Aen romises that he for- got immediately a . No, Miss Ear], it is plain that you have come all the way from Chicago on a wild goose chase, and I would ad- vise you to return at once, lest you fall into the hands of the unscrupulous person who lured you here. I am sorry for you, and if you need any pecuniary assistance I will gladly extend it.” “Thank you, but I have plenty of means for my immediate use. I shall not return eastward, just yet. Have you your husband’s will, madam?” sé T have. 9 ‘¢ Will you permit me to read it?” Mrs. Hinton gave her visitor a keen glance. ‘‘What do you want to read it for?’ she asked. “Oh! out of curiosity!” “ Well, ll tell you what Pido. Ill let you read it, providing you will let me copy this letter of yours.” 7 hi do de you wish to copy it?” am desirous, for our mutual bene- fit, of of finding out who this John Jones is.” ‘Very well. Let me see the will and you “— copy the letter.” inton arose and proceeding to the fami- ty I oom pe the parlor, soon returned with the will, and gave it to Janet. Then, with pen, ink and paper, she seated her- self at a table, and began to copy John Jones’s letter, seemingly endeavoring c reproduce a perfect fac-simile of it. Janet read the will carefully through, and then laid it on the table. Mrs, Hinton immediately arose, took the docu- Bozeman Bill of - _ BOsemian ERM OR Ree: rRee Brace, oe uy ‘ cam “4 - A “~ : ~~ ment, then resumed her writing, and soon had the letter copied. She folded up both the original and the copy, a that they looked alike, and handed Janet the tter. Janet unfolded it, and discovered the change. ‘* You’ve made a mistake, and given me the copy. ” she said. I guess not,” was the cool reply. ‘‘I have the copy myself. 4 ‘* You are mistaken,” Janet replied, firmly. ‘‘ I detected the difference at a g ance, We will exchange.” ‘* We will do nothing of the sort,” Mrs. Hin- ton retorted. ‘‘One paper is as good as the other, and as it cannot possibly make any dif- ference which you have, I prefer to retain the one I possess.” ‘It does make a great deal of difference to me,” Janet quickly declared. ‘“‘I want the original letter, Mrs. Hinton!” ‘* You’ve got it!” ‘** T have not!” ‘f'You lie!” Janet flushed with indignation. ‘“I do not lie!” she cried. ‘‘I want that letter!” ‘* Do you?” said Mrs, Hinton, with an aggres- sive sneer. ‘* Well, let me see you get it!’ For a moment Janet was nonplused. She did not want to lose the letter under any consideration, and was both surprised and an- gered at the widow’s strange conduct. What should she do to regain possession of the original letter? A sudden thought flashed across her mind. Reaching into her pocket she drew forth the revolver Bozeman Bill had given her, and cock- ing it, she leveled it direct at the widow. “4 Now, ma’am,” she said, ‘‘ Ill take that paper, if you please, or I will shoot you and get forcible possession of it! I mean business!’ ‘“You_ hussy, put up that weapon!” fairly screamed Mrs. Hinton, both anger and alarm- ed. ‘‘ Dll have you arrested!” ‘* Bah!” retorted Janet, one Wall Y ‘* Do you see that clock on the mantle? Well, lll give you just two minutes to hand over that paper. efuse at your peril!” The widow saw that Janet meant just what she said; so, thrusting her hand into her pocket, she cast the original missive at Janet’s feet. ‘* Now get out of my house, or [Pll have you kicked out!” she cried. ‘Thank you. You need not go to that trou- ble,” Janet answered bravely. ‘* You may call this your house just at present, for they say pos- session is nine-tenths of the law; but remember that I consider myself an heiress to at least a Forage of the late Mr. Hinton’s fortune, and if n do so, I shall eventually dispossess you of these premises.” And so saying, Janet backed to the door, still keeping the widow covered, and then left the house, tele KG CHAPTER V. THE ANXIOUS CONFERENCE. WHEN Janet had departed, Mrs. Hinton paced to and fro across the softly-carpeted floor of the pace white with the passionate rage she tried rd to suppress. Hers was one of those nervous temperaments which, when not kept under restraint, so preyed upon her general system when excited as to throw her into a fit of sickness. Try though she now did, she found it impossible to control her passion, thoroughly aroused by the defeat sustained at the hands of Janet Earl. ‘* May all the imps of Satan seize that girl!” she hissed, as she paced to and fro with flashing eyes mas Merge fier ‘*The idea of her coming here, thinking to usurp my rights! Why, never heard of such a piece of ae city in all my life! Does she think I am a woman to brook such presumption? If she does, she will find out that she is making a sorry mistake!” She continued to pace to and fro until she got her rage somewhat more under control; then she touched a bell, and Bridget, the servant- woman, presently entered the room. “ Bridget, ” the widow said, ‘‘I want you to put on your sun-bonnet, go and find Horace, and tell him I want to see him. If you are quick about it, Pl give you a quarter on your return.” ‘Sure, mum, I'll not be gone foive minutes,” Bridget replied—“‘ pervidin’ I can foind the gin- tlemon.” ‘“You will likely find him at the Tallyho. Anyhow, inquire there first,” Bridget hurried aw ay. and then Mrs. Hinton seated herself and read the copy of the letter she ee : - ‘te : ~~ ed Gd = oe SS @ } - Sa a” s ° . — > } | res i . * y . - ucts had but recently sijiast racact lade teonaned Unt wrieine. ‘satkacée BERL LAE sbedhily endo and which Janet had thrown upon the floor. “Strange! strange!” she muttered, ‘‘ who could bave written this letter to the girl, for for evidently it was written by some one here Big Brace, and sent on to Chicago to her, as Hs claims. I remember now that Hamilton once mentioned having met such a girl in Chicago, prior to our marriage, but he never made men- tion of any intention of leaving her any mone in existence than the one I possess?” Spreading the will on the table in front of er, she carefully compared its chirography with that of the attempted fac-simile of John Jones’s letter. ‘“No, there is no resemblance between the writing of Phineas Fink and that of this so- called Jones, that I can detect. I didn’t know but what Fink might be trying to play a double game, but this don’t look like it.” A few minutes later Horace Hinton made his appearance in the parlor, ‘*Did you send for me, Alecia?’ he asked, takin a seat near her. es, Horace,” was the reply. “Something has hap} ened that gives me grent uneasiness,” ‘* So i would infer, for you are very pale. What is the matter?” ‘Something that will no doubt surprise you as much as it has me. Read this!” and she handed him the copy she had made of John Jones’s letter. He gave it a careful perusal, his face express- ing greet astonishment. ‘** Where did you get this?” he asked. ‘*Tt is a copy of the original letter, which the ssessor, one Janet Earl, allowed me to make,” rs. Hinton responded, She then told of the visit from Janet, touching: on all the particulars of said interview. Horace Hinton listened with darkening conn- tenance, at the same time studying the copy of John Jones’s letter. ‘* Is this a fac-stmile of the original letter?’ he asked. ‘‘ As near as I could make, and you are aware: that I am no novice with the pen,” the widow replied. ‘‘ Do you notice an resemblance in it to Phineas Fink’s style of chirography?” ‘*No. He never wrote this letter, that’s flat.” ‘Then, who did?” “Dll give it up.” ‘‘Is there any lawyer in Big Brace named John J ones?” ‘* No, nor any one else of that name, so far as I know.” ‘‘Then, how do you account for the letter? Do you think it is a for Sy atl ‘Evidently not. you examine the post- mark?” ‘Yes: it was posted in Big Brace, and was sent to Chicago, or there was a receiving stamp mark on the back of the envelope. What time did this Janet Earl first make her appearance in Big Brace?’ ‘Last evening. She came in company with an old scout called Old Avalanche, who had evi- dently acted as her escort to this camp. They are both putting up at the Tallyho.” ‘‘ Well, what do you think of the matter?” the widow ask ‘6 Tt strikes me, so far asI can judge, that matters have a bad outlook. If the girl is not- an adventuress—and she don’t have the appear- ance of being one, she has evidently been sent for by some person unknown to us, for a pur- “What purpose?” ‘‘What more natural than that some one wants to corral a portion of my brother’s in- heritance?” ‘‘ But, how would such aschemer know of thi girl away off in Chicago, and select her as the tool with which to work out this scheme?” ‘“‘Oh, Ham may have mentioned her, prior to his death, you see, and thereby given a found- ation for the plot.” ‘‘ Did he ever speak to her, to you?” ‘* Yes, and in glowing terms, at that.” “But, did not say he intended to leave her 4 anything I hope?” es a you think it poesible that another will is in existence, Horace?” “T Gon’t know how to think, in regard to that. If there was another will, I should hav supposed it would have been left in Fink's hands, ae we can find no trace of it, at a! s: e se, 9 an ht?” id ok rig It wouldn’t be to his advantage to be otherwise. Why, isn’t he getting cnough to It cannot be possible that there is another will