#1 The Secret of the Old Clock

10/7/2016 The Secret of the Old Clock
the portions which have to do with the disposal of the property. But first I want to ask Mr. Topham what value he
puts on the estate."
"A hundred thousand after taxes," the man replied.
"Oh!" the Turners exclaimed, and Mary said, "I had no idea Josiah had that much money."
"Nor I," Edna agreed.
Mr. Drew picked up several typewritten sheets from the table, and began to read in a clear voice:
" 'I, Josiah Crowley, do make this my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills by me at any
time made. I give and bequeath all my property, real and personal, as follows:
" 'To my beloved friends and neighbors, Grace and Allison Hoover, a sum equal to twenty per cent of my
estate, share and share alike.' "
"I must be dreaming!" Grace gasped.
"You mean I'm going to get ten thousand dollars?" Allison cried out. She burst into tears. "Oh, Nancy, you did
this for me! Now I can have my voice lessons."
Isabel Topham eyed her disdainfully. "It would take more than ten thousand dollars to make a singer out of
you!" she said maliciously.
"Quiet!" commanded her father. "Let's hear what else this will says."
His daughter subsided, but his wife exclaimed spitefully, "The will is a fraud. The Hoovers aren't even
relatives."
"It is no fraud," Mr. Drew told her quietly. Again he picked up the will and began to read:
" 'To Abby Rowen, my late wife's cousin, in consideration of her kindness to me, a sum equal to ten per cent of
my estate.' "
"Oh, I'm so glad," Grace murmured. "Now she'll be able to get the medical and other attention she needs."
"And have someone live at her house to take care of her," said Nancy.
"That old lady gets ten thousand dollars?" Ada Topham said harshly. "What did she ever do for Cousin
Josiah?" Angrily she turned to her mother. "We took care of him for yearsshe didn't!"
"I'll say not," Isabel echoed, her voice tart.
" 'To my cousins, Fred and William Mathews, a sum equal to twenty per cent of my estate, share and share
alike,' " Mr. Drew read.
"We didn't expect that much," Fred Mathews declared in genuine surprise. "Josiah was very kind." Fred
smiled. "Now we can take a trip like we've always wanted to do, William."
"That's right. I just can't believe it. A long trip on an ocean liner or a plane."
" 'To my cousins, Edna and Mary Turner, twenty per cent of my estate, share and share alike.' "
"Oh, how generous!" Edna murmured. "Now little Judy can have the things we've always wanted to give her."
"Yes," said Mary Turner. "Oh, I feel so relieved."
"Aren't we mentioned at all?" Mrs. Topham broke in sharply.
Mr. Drew smiled. "Yes, you are mentioned. I'm coming to that now. 'To Richard Topham, five thousand
dollars. To Grace and Allison Hoover' "
"Hold on!" cried Mrs. Topham. "What about me and the girls?"
"No money was left to you," the lawyer stated simply.
Isabel gave a shriek. "Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, Mother, all those bills! What'll we do?"
Ada too had cried out. "I'll have to go to work! Oh, I can't bear the thought of it!"
When the furor died down, Mr. Drew read on, " 'To Grace and Allison Hoover my household furniture now in
the possession of Mrs. Richard Topham.' "
There was a gasp of surprise from everyone in the room, and Mrs. Topham half arose from her chair. It was
generally known in River Heights that she had practically confiscated Josiah Crowley's furniture at the time he
had been induced to make his home with the Tophams.
"How insulting!" the woman cried. "Does Josiah Crowley dare hint that I took his furniture?"
"I'm sure I don't know what was in his mind at the time he wrote the will," Mr. Drew told her with a smile.
Grace Hoover interposed quickly, "We have enough furniture without Josiah Crowley's."
Allison nodded. "We'll not take any of it from you, Mrs. Topham."
Mr. Drew carefully folded the document he had been reading, and after placing it in his pocket, he said to the
people in the room:
"That is all, except that there is a proviso for the executor to pay all Mr. Crowley's just debts, including his
funeral expenses, and that what balance is left in the estate goes to the Manningham Old Men's Home. I
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