by a sudden thought, he laid the paper down and turned once more
to Brewster.

"It seems that Sedgwick never married. Your mother was his sister
and his only known relative of close connection. He was a man of
most peculiar temperament, but in full possession of all mental
faculties. You may find this will to be a strange document, but I
think Mr. Jones, the executor, explains any mystery that may be
suggested by its terms. While Sedgwick's whereabouts were unknown
to his old friends in New York, it seems that he was fully posted
on all that was going on here. He knew that you were the only
child of your mother and therefore his only nephew. He sets forth
the dates of your mother's marriage, of your birth, of the death
of Robert Brewster and of Mrs. Brewster. He also was aware of the
fact that old Edwin Peter Brewster intended to bequeath a large
fortune to you--and thereby hangs a tale. Sedgwick was proud. When
he lived in New York, he was regarded as the kind of man who never
forgave the person who touched roughly upon his pride. You know,
of course, that your father married Miss Sedgwick in the face of
the most bitter opposition on the part of Edwin Brewster. The
latter refused to recognize her as his daughter, practically
disowned his son, and heaped the harshest kind of calumny upon the
Sedgwicks. It was commonly believed about town that Jim Sedgwick
left the country three or four years after this marriage for the
sole reason that he and Edwin Brewster could not live in the same
place. So deep was his hatred of the old man that he fled to
escape killing him. It was known that upon one occasion he visited
the office of his sister's enemy for the purpose of slaying him,
but something prevented. He carried that hatred to the grave, as
you will see."