forwarded to
Clarksville, Ark.; hence this letter to Judge Martin, and hence Pert's
knowledge of the matter, as her uncle immediately applied to her for
the necessary information.

"Uncle has written to Baltimore to-day," continued the letter, "and he
says you will hear from the authorities there without delay. The
inclosed clipping is from a Little Rock paper. Oh! Checkers, darling,
is n't it lovely?"

The slovenly waiter shuffled to the counter with his cup of muddy
coffee and a soggy roll. Checkers tossed him half a dollar, and
stalked majestically out. "I think the joint where I ate last night is
just about my size this morning," he chuckled. "Gee, but I 'd like to
yell just once. The judges can't call all bets off this time." All
during breakfast his mind was busy with a thousand different
speculations, and he finally decided that in so momentous a matter he
ought to consult a lawyer. "I 'll find one in some big office
building," he mentally resolved, "and get his advice."

+---------------------+
| MURRAY JAMESON, |
| Attorney-at-Law. |
+---------------------+

This, in modest gold letters upon an office window, was the first thing
he saw upon reaching the street.

"Everything 's coming my way to-day," he thought. "Well, I 'll go in
and see the old joker."

He was much taken aback upon entering, however, to find the "old joker"
a man of about thirty.

"Is Mr. Jameson in?" he asked.

"I am Mr. Jameson," was the reply.

"Well, I wanted to get a little advice, but--"

"Certainly; come into my private office."

Checkers was trapped. "I do n't believe," he began desperately, "that
you 'll be able to help me. It's a very important case, and--well,
I--I want some one with a lot of experience."

"As you like," said Mr. Jameson, who, by the way, was none other than
my old friend Murray, "but I 've been practicing law for more than five
years."

"Well, that's enough practice to learn any game;" and, seating himself,
Checkers told him the facts as succinctly as possible from the
beginning.

Of his uncle's circumstances he really knew nothing; but he remembered
hearing his mother speak of him, just before her death, as being "well
off," and "Uncle Giles was n't the kind, once he had a dollar, ever to
let it get away."

If Checkers' chronology was correct, it was clear that he was the only
heir, and "whether his Uncle left much or little, it was that much
better than nothin