goods had been
divided into three parts. I said to them: "My instructions were that
everything should be divided into two parts. How is it that there are
three?" The heirs and other relatives answered as one: "A third must
certainly be set aside. That is why we have divided everything into three.
One share is for Mirza Musa, one for the two daughters, and the third we
place at Your disposal; this third is the portion of the deceased and You
are to expend it in any way You see fit."

Greatly disturbed, we told them, "Such a thing is out of the question.
This you must not require, for it cannot be complied with. We gave our
word to Baha'u'llah that not so much as a copper coin would be accepted."
But they, too, swore upon oath that it must be as they wished, that they
would agree to nothing else. This servant answered: "Let us leave this
matter for the present. Is there any further disagreement among you?"
"Yes," said Mirza Musa, "what has become of the money that was left?"
Asked the amount, he answered: "Three hundred thousand tumans." The
daughters said: "There are two possibilities: either this money is here in
the house, in some coffer, or buried hereabouts--or else it is in other
hands. We will give over the house and all its contents to Mirza Musa. We
two will leave the house, with nothing but our veils. If anything turns up
we, as of now, freely accord it to him. If the money is elsewhere, it has
no doubt been deposited in someone's care; and that person, well aware of
the breach of trust, will hardly come forward, deal honorably by us, and
return it--rather, he will make off with it all. Mirza Musa must establish
a satisfactory proof of what he says; his claim alone is not evidence."
Mirza Musa replied: "All the property was in their hands; I knew nothing
of what was going on--I had no hint of it. They did whatever they pleased."

In short, Mirza Musa had no clear proof of his claim. He could only ask,
"Is such a thing possible, that the late Haji had no ready funds?" Since
the claim was unsupported, I felt that pursuing it further would lead to a
scandal and produce nothing of value. Accordingly I bade them: "Cast the
lots." As for the third share, I had them put it in a separate apartment,
close it off, and affix a seal to the door. The key I brought to
Baha'u'llah. "The task is done," I said. "It was accomplished only through
Your confirmations. Otherwise it could not have been completed in a year.
However, a