Page 66 - 1917 Hartridge

On the table lay the note. He opened it. In a lawyer-llke hand he saw written: “ In the haste of my departure, I neglected to convey to you
two other provisions of your late uncle’s will. He demands a total ab­ stinence from intoxicating liquors, and a monthly report of how much you earned, as well as of your daily activities. The account will be looked over by me.’’
m
“Ye gods and little tadpoles,’’ muttered Penrose weakly, and fell into a chair. Binks entered and Penrose said, “Ah!’’ and sat up. Then— “ Take it back, Binks, and bring me a glass of— er —of— er— sarsapar- ilia.’’
Binks marveled, but kept his own counsel.
Now, according to all that’s sacred and hackneyed in story-telling, Penrose would have followed out this noble beginning, not without some struggles, of course, to make it interesting, would have handed in his ac­ counts to Smith, who would have slapped him on the back, or shaken hands and commended his fortitude, and at the end of the year, William As­ quith Penrose, Jr. would have handed over the money trebled, (easily done by a little Wall Street speculation, in which he was a genius) and
having married Hildegarde, would have settled down on Fifth Avenue, Long Branch, Palm Beach, and the Adirondacks, and endeavored to dis­ pose of his late uncle’s $8,783,521.69. But this is truth, and it is more exciting than fiction. William did none of these things.
He spent money, it is true, in much his old fashion, now and then virtuously refrained from a third glass, and handed in an account which he had written in one day, covering the entire month. It was a most
virtuous account, and Lawyer Smith smiled approvingly at the entries. “ Rose at 7 a. m. Went to office, where I remained until 5.30 p. m., when I returned home. An hour for lunch and mental improvement.’’ Lawyer Smith decided that “Long View’’ would have to wait awhile for the money.
Then he decided to Investigate. It was a sad move for W. A. P.
Smith found out many things, all at variance with the report. He
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