"Did he know the nature of this will before coming here?"
"I think not. He certainly did not know it from me, and I have reason to think that he did not see his brother after it was made until the day he returned, which was the day of his death, I believe."
"It was."
"I was out of the city at the time and did not see Victor De Jarnette after this codicil was added, April thirtieth. I wish to God I had! I think perhaps I could have persuaded him then to alter it. He had had a good many months in which to cool down. He was a hot-headed fellow, you know."
"You say you tried to argue him out of doing it in the first place?"
"I used every effort in my power, but he would listen to nothing. I never saw a man so carried away by passion."
"Well, by the Lord, sir!" said the Judge, bringing his fist down upon the table, "I believe I should have refused to draw up that will!"
The attorney flushed.
"I did so at first," he returned quietly, "but he insisted that if I would not do it he could get somebody that would—which, of course, I knew was true. I thought that when he had had time to think it over he would feel ashamed of it and want to change it, and I felt that if it were between us two I should be in a better position to try to bring this about than if it had gone entirely out of my hands."
"There is something in that," admitted the Judge.