“It was just a week before Mr. Peters’ death that he sent for me to draw his will,” said the lawyer finally, deciding to satisfy the curiosity of his hearers. “He had no immediate fear of death, although as you know he had been partially paralyzed for many years. The document was a very simple matter. As you say, he had no direct heirs at law, and he wished to will his entire property to a man whom he designated as Red Morgan—— Did you speak?” the lawyer asked, turning to Nick, who had uttered a suppressed exclamation.
“A sudden pain in my side. It’s nothing. Don’t let me interrupt you.”
“Although the will tells nothing of the history or character of the heir to this large fortune, old Mr. Peters related to me the little he knew of the man and his reasons for his singular disposition of his wealth. As you know, he was always eccentric and of firm and determined mind. After he had outlined to me the brief document that I was to draw for him I tried to dissuade him from this peculiar disposition of his property, urging that it might result in all sorts of claims being set up by all sorts of crooks and criminals.
“But he would not listen to me. ‘I have sent for you to make my will, Smart,’ he said. ‘I am of sound mind and perfectly competent. I have no near relations who have any claim on me or my posthumous generosity. The money is mine, and I purpose to do what I like with it. If you do not want to draw the will I’ll get some one who will.’ Well, there was no gainsaying him, and, of course, there was no real reason why he should not devise his property in this way if he chose. Only I could see all kinds of trouble coming to me, as I was to be the arbiter and see to it that the right man got the money, and also that the conditions of the will, which were also simple, were carried out to the letter.”
“But why did he make such a strange disposition of his property?” asked Northrup.
“I am coming to that. This is the story he told me:
“As you, and, as far as that goes, the entire countryside knows, Mr. Peters was in the habit of keeping a large sum of money in the house. He had been frequently warned that it was a bait for burglars, but in his stubborn way he paid no heed to his advisers. The money was kept in a safe in his room, and the key he always carried with him and at night slept with it under his pillow. This, of course, was little security, as after-events proved, for every one knew that ‘old man Peters always had a thousand dollars or more in his safe,’ and just as many knew that the key was to be found under his pillow at night. Just how this knowledge reached the inner circles of the criminal world is something it is hard to explain. But it did.
“Well, one night Mr. Peters, who lived alone, as you know, with an old servant, was awakened by a noise in his room. As he opened his eyes without stirring he saw the forms of two men, who had just entered by the window which opened onto the roof of a porch. The room was dimly lighted by a new moon, and, as his eyes became used to the semidarkness, he could see every movement the men made, and he was soon impressed with the remarkable fact that one of the midnight visitors was unaware of the presence of the other.
“It was a singular scene that the old man witnessed as he lay there quietly in bed watching the catlike movements of the dark forms. It would have been a trying situation for an ordinary man, but old man Peters did not have a nerve in his body, and was as brave as a lion. Had he been physically able he would undoubtedly have engaged his unbidden guests in a little rough-and-tumble fight without recking the results. But his paralyzed limbs would not permit any such demonstration, and he just lay there watching and waiting.
“He had a keen sense of humor, had Mr. Peters, and it was this that nearly cost him his life and made Thomas Danton his heir. As he watched the foremost man moving stealthily about getting his bearings, and just as stealthily followed by the crouching figure of the other, the scene—one thief dogging another—struck him as so ludicrous that he laughed outright.