“Your will!” exclaimed Sherry Trimm, when the door had closed behind the two. “I thought——”
“Bad habit, thinking things. Don’t. Put that drink where I can reach it—so. There’s paper on the table. Sit down.”
Trimm saw that he had better not argue the matter, and he did as he was bidden. He was indeed very much surprised at the sudden turn of affairs, for he was perfectly well aware that Tom Craik had made a will some years previously in which he left his whole fortune to his only sister, Trimm’s wife. The lawyer wondered what his brother-in-law intended to do now, and as the only means of ascertaining the truth seemed to be to obey his orders, he lost no time in preparing to receive the dictation.
“This the last will and testament of me, Thomas Craik,” said the sick man, sharply. “Got that? Go on. I do hereby revoke and annul all former wills made by me. That’s correct isn’t it? No, I’m not wandering—not a bit. Very important that clause—very. Go ahead about the just debts and funeral expenses. I needn’t dictate that.”
Trimm wrote rapidly on, nervously anxious to get to the point.
“Got that? Well. I bequeath all my worldly possessions, real and personal estate of all kinds—go on with the stock phrases—include house and furniture, trinkets and everything.”
Trimm’s hand moved quickly along the ruled lines of the foolscap.
“To whom?” he asked almost breathlessly, as he reached the end of the formal phrase.
“To George Winton Wood,” said Craik with an odd snap of the lips. “His name’s on that card, Sherry, beside you, if you don’t know how to spell it. Go on. Son of Jonah Wood of New York, and of Fanny Winton deceased, also of New York. No mistake about the identity, eh? Got it down? To have and to hold—and all the rest of it. Let’s get to the signature—look sharp! Get in the witness clause right—that’s the most important—don’t forget to say, in our presence and in the presence of each other—there’s where the hitch comes in about proving wills. All right. Ring for the doctor and we’ll have the witnesses right away. Make the date clear.”
Sherrington Trimm had not recovered from his surprise, as he pressed the silver button of the bell. The physician entered immediately.