82 TALES OF PINK AND SILK. 



busy looking for sometliing in them. The next morning, in 

 changing the blotting-paper in the library, he found some 

 one had been practising signatures, and noticed both his own 

 and that of John Ash, the butler ; they both had witnessed 

 my uncle's will. Like a wise man, he put the blotting- 

 paper in his pocket and said nothing to anyone. Now, a 

 short time ago my cousin decided to make a doorway from 

 one library to the other, and Freeman, who had remained 

 in his service, came across the will as he was removing the 

 books, sent it to my solicitors, and here I am ! " 



Next morning a groom came over post-haste to the 

 Towers with the startling intelligence that Mr. Robert 

 Beverley had been found dead in his bedroom, a revolver, 

 from which one cartridge had been fired, lying by his side. 

 He also brought a note addressed to Tom Beverley, which 

 he had found on the table. In it the dead man begged his 

 cousin's forgiveness, confessing that he had forged the will 

 that had made him his uncle's heir, at the same time stating 

 that he had always feared that his crime would be found 

 out, as he had not destroyed the original will, which 

 Freeman informed him was now in safe keeping. Freeman, 

 he said, surprised him at his work, and he had hastily 

 shuffled the will between the leaves of a book on the 

 writing table ; he had searched through every book in the 

 library without finding it, and feared that Freeman or some 

 one had it to produce when they thought fit. 



Of course, after the excitement of the recent events had 

 abated, it became necessary to appoint a new Master of the 

 Hawthorn Dale Hounds, and what more natural than that 

 Mr. Thomas Beverley should once more take up the reins 

 of office, which he consented to do the following year ; then, 

 having built new kennels on his own estate, he took over 

 the hounds entirely. 



The following notice also appeared in the papers in due 



