PROBLEM No. 18.
Mr. Harold Wimpole died in his Opera Hat, and was buried in Willesden Cemetery.
His Will had been proved, Estate Duty had been paid, and the Widow, who was the sole Beneficiary, had found considerable consolation in the £56,200 which had come to her.
This £56,200 represented the Gross Estate, less Debts due by Mr. Wimpole at his death £1,416, Funeral Expenses £39 17s. 0d. which were regarded by all, including the Inland Revenue Authorities, as most reasonable, Estate Duty, Interest on Estate Duty £31 16s. 0d., Testamentary Expenses £140 3s. 0d. and Legacy Duty.
"The Curate looked at the Widow, and the Widow looked at the Curate."
Eight months had passed away and the rules of Society permitted Mrs. Wimpole to smile occasionally; the Curate, who took an extraordinary interest in Mrs. Wimpole's salvation and the carving of an ancient Japanese Cabinet, had called for tea. The Reverend gentleman, with a sandwich in his hand, was recording the incidents connected with the birth of Buddha, when his fingers happened to touch the spring of a secret drawer in the aforementioned Cabinet.