r. Bowen, very much as if he had at first intended
to groan.

Before them on the table lay the contents of a bulky envelope: a long
and stupendous letter from their London correspondents and with it a
copy of Taswell Skaggs's will. The letter had come in the morning's
mail, heralded by a rather vague cablegram the week before. To be brief,
Mr. Bowen recently had been named as joint executor of the will,
together with Sir John Allencrombie, of London, W.C., one time neighbour
of the late Mr. Skaggs. A long and exasperating cablegram had touched
somewhat irresolutely upon the terms of the will, besides notifying him
that one of the heirs resided in Boston. He was instructed to apprise
this young man of his good fortune. This he delayed in doing until after
he had obtained more definite information from England. The full and
complete statement of facts was now before him.

There was one _very_ important, perhaps imposing feature in connection
with the old gentleman's will: he was decidedly sound of mind and body
when it was uttered.

When such astute lawyers as Bowen & Hare give up to amazement, the usual
forerunner of consternation, it is high time to regard the case as
startling. Their practice was far-reaching and varied; imperviousness
had been acquired through long years of restraint. But this day they
were sharply ousted from habitual calmness into a state of mind
bordering on the ludicrous.

"Read it again, Bowen."

"The will?"

"No; the letter."

Whereupon Mr. Bowen again read aloud the letter from Bosworth, Newnes &
Grapewin, this time slowly and speculatively.

"They seem as much upset by the situation as we," he observed
reflectively.

"Extraordinary state of affairs, I must say."

"And I don't know what to do about it--I don't even know how to begin.
They're both married."

"And not to each other."

"She's the wife of a Lord-knows-what-kind-of-a-lord, and he's married to
an uncommonly fine girl, they say, notwithstanding the fact that she has
larger social aspirations than he has means."

"And if that all-important clause in the will is not carried out to the
letter, the whole fortune goes to the bow-wows."

"Practically the same thing. He calls them 'natives,' that's all. It
looks to me as though the bow-wows will get the old man's millions. I
don't see how anything short of Providence can alter the situation."

Mr. Bowen looked out over the house-tops and Mr. Hare laughed softly
under his