ring it. He thought he had a memorandum of it somewhere, but he
remembered the principal features of it."
"Was it a great change from the first?" Mavick asked.
"Yes, considerable. In fact, the greater part of his property, as far
as I could make out, was to go to endow a vast training-school, library,
and reading-room on the East Side. Of course that would be a fine
thing."
"Of course," said Mavick. "And no such will has been found?"
"I've looked everywhere," replied Carmen, simply; "all over the house.
It should be in that desk if anywhere. We can look again, but I feel
pretty sure there is no such document there."
She took in her hand the bunch of keys that lay on the table, as if she
were about to rise and unlock the desk. Then she hesitated, and looked
Mavick full in the face.
"Do you think, Mr. Mavick, that will was ever executed?"
For a moment they looked steadily at each other, and then he said,
deliberately, their eyes squarely meeting, "I do not think it was."
And in a moment he added, "He never said anything to me about such a
disposition of his property."
Two things were evident to Carmen from this reply. He saw her interests
as she saw them, and it was pretty certain that the contents of the
will were not made known to him when he witnessed it. She experienced an
immense feeling of relief as she arose and unlocked the desk. They sat
down before it together, and went over its contents. Mavick made a note
of the fresh business memoranda that might be of service next day, since
Mrs. Henderson had requested him to attend the proving of the will, and
to continue for the present the business relations with her that he had
held with Mr. Henderson.
It was late when he left the house, but he took with him a note to Mr.
Sage to drop into the box for morning delivery. The note said that she
had searched the house, that no second will existed there, and that she
had telegraphed to Mr. Mavick, who had much knowledge of Mr. Henderson's
affairs, to meet him in the morning. And she read the note to Mavick
before she sealed it.
Before the note could have been dropped into the box, Carmen was in her
room, and the note was literally true. No second will existed.
The will was proved, and on the second day its contents were in all the
newspapers. But with it went a very exciting story. This was the rumor
of another will, and of Henderson's vast scheme of benevolence. Mr. Sage
had been interviewed and Carm
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