same person, and they were pledged to secrecy. One of them drew up his
will and the other made death as easy as possible for him. His nephew,
poor wretch, buried him in a grave alongside a devoted sister, froze
his ears while doing so--and lost his job in the bank besides!

The new will was read in the offices of Bradlee, Sigsbee & Oppenheim
on the day following Mr. Bingle's first ride in a taxi-cab. The heir
was too bewildered to attend the meeting arranged for the same
afternoon, and it had to be postponed. As a matter of fact, he sent
word to the lawyers that his wife was too ill to come down that
afternoon but would doubtless be better on the following day. When
informed that his wife's presence was unnecessary and that his cousins
were even then on their way down town and that there was no way to
head them off, he blandly inquired if it wouldn't be possible to
postpone the whole matter for a week or two, assuring the gentlemen
that he wouldn't, for all the world, disturb Mrs. Bingle, who appeared
to be sleeping comfortably for the first time in twenty-four hours. In
fact, he informed them that he thought it would be a mistake to break
the news to her while her cold was so bad; as for himself, he didn't
mind waiting a week or two--not in the least--if it was all the same
to Mr. Sigsbee.

It was Melissa who broke the news to Mrs. Bingle, and it was at once
apparent that it was not a mistake to do so. The good lady improved so
rapidly that she sent for the expensive Dr. Fiddler, dismissing the
cheap Dr. Smith, and by seven o'clock that evening declared that she
had never felt better in all of her life.

"I suppose you'll fire me now, Mr. Bingle," Melissa had said
dejectedly. "With all that money, you'll be wanting high-priced