rnnt. Beyond this defect, which I was
obliged to admit was serious, there was
no reason why she should uot make a
husband happy.
T
A
1 determined to broach my plan to
her. Beginning with a statement o f
how her lawyer had played off tier in
terests against those o f her opponent,
I entered Into a detailed explanation
of
the tangle into which the two inter
A Lavyyer Paved the
A
ests had been brought nud finally end
Way; a Woman Did
ed by saying:
"There is hut oue way tn which the
the
Rest
j*
i
property can be saved. The two inter
T
------
A ests should be united in one person.”
By F. A. M ITCHEL
"H o w can that be?" she asked iu
wonderment.
“ By marriage.”
My M end Jernegan came Into my
"Then all I have to say is that the
law office one morning and said to me: property will be sunk."
“ Tom, my affairs have been in the j I made no rejoinder, but. gathering up
hands o f Turner & Sw ift ever since my some papers I had brought with me,
dad died, and they have got them into took my leave. Any attempt to bring
a frightful snarl. They now tell me ! two such persons together would be
The lady was as
that I ’m likely to lose everything. I've evidently futile.
much in the hands of her lawyers as
concluded to take the management of
Jim had been in the hands o f Ills. She
the estate out o f tileir hands and put
knew nothing about the condition of
it in yours.”
affairs until I made my statement *o
This seemed to me like a doctor call- i her. She did not even know who was
ed In to save a patient that had been her op[K>nent. Until 1 informed her
given up by another doctor, but Jim | she had no idea how she had been
Jernegnn and I ha,l long been chums, used by ber lawyers or that she was
and I couldn't refuse him. A tin box In danger o f poverty, for they bad
full o f papers arrived at my offi e. the | kept ber supplied with an Income
box being marked in gilt let ers "E s taken from the principal.
I was not surprised, then, when iu a
tate o f James It. Jernegan." Jim's fa
ther. and I proceeded to an investiga few weeks I received a call from her
at my office.
tion.
“ Would a legal marriage.” she asked,
The deceased had made a fortune by "w ith this man who is endeavoring to
a land speculation in whi.-li he had had cheat me out o f my property, without
a partner nameJ Hausnian. The two my living with him. bring about a set
had quarreled, each claiming the lion's (lenient o f this suit?”
share o f the property. This had start
A fter some thought 1 told her that it
ed a lawsuit which had been inherited would help matters very much. I told
with the property by the heirs. The her this not because I would approve
value o f the land had increased, but the such a marriage, for I would not and
costs o f the suit had increased propor felt sure that it would bring about add
tinnately. Ilausmau before his death ed difficulties, but I hoped by fostering
had transferred his interest to a man the idea a union o f hearts might be
named Starkweather, and Starkweath effected.
1 added, however, that I
er had died. leaving it to ids only would think over what she had said
child, a daughter.
and advise her more definitely.
1 found my client absolutely ignorant
I next tackled Jim
I went through
o f the condition o f his Interests in the
property. “ Don't talk-to me about it.” the same explanations as with the lady,
he said.
“ I know nothing of law. ending in the same way.
“ Not on your life !” was the decided
That’s what 1 hire you for." So I was
obliged to work out the puzzle unaid response.
Neither of my two clients asked a
ed. I found that there were just two
question
as to the age or condition of
interests In the property— Jim’s and
Miss Starkweather cared
Starkweather's daughter's. The law the other.
nothing
about
it because a marriage
vers had been playing these two inter
ests off the one against the other to with her opponent was to be a mere
make business tor themselves I would legal function. Jim did not care be
have brought about n settlement, but cause, having once beeu jilt«Ml. he
the rascals had got the matter so tan would not marry any woman. How
gled that this was impossible. There ever. besides my friendship for Jim.
was but one way to effect such a result, there was a big fee for me.
Months passed, during which there
and that was by a union o f tlie two op
posing interests. Since one o f the par was no change in the situation except
ties was a man and the other a woman that the property was going from bad
to worse.
Miss Starkweather had
this might J)e effected by marriage.
But I saw no hope in such a solution. meanwhile transferred her affairs to
The woman might lie old: she might be an honest law yer who gave her a true
homely; she might be a virago. And view o f tlie situation and refused to
even though she were young and at keep up his income on au expectation
tractive I knew that Jim would never o f securing a slice o f the property for
He also confirmed what I
marry. When twenty-two or twenty- himself.
had
said
about
n settlement by mar
three years old he had been jilted by n
riage. though he pointed out grave con
girl he loved, and this had made him a
sequences that might result from this
confirmed woman hater. He was now
plan. Nevertheless be showed her how
thirty, frequented dubs and had no
it would render available funds for
home. I think that he would have
present use. and she determined to
liked n home, but could not have one
adopt it provided the party o f the oth
without a wife, and he had no con
er part would consent. I broached the
fidence in any woman.
plan to Jim, who was also cramped for
However. 1 determined to hate a funds, and assured him that. besides
look at the person who was fighting releasing certain moneys, possibly it
Jim for the estate and ask her If she might end in n settlement of the suit
would accede to something o f no real He took the matter under considera
Importance ns an .excuse to call upon tion and. when posted at Ills club for
her. I found a woman o f about twen dues and supplies that be could not
ty-seven, handsome and apparently pay for, concluded to adopt the mar
otherwise attractive, except that her ringe plan. I tried to Interest him in
disposition did not seem esjiecially the lady by sounding her praises, hut
amiable. But whether tills was natu he wouldn't listen to me. “ She may be
ral to her or had been engendered by a Medusa for all i care." he said.
her fight for affluence tn lieu of pov
I was obliged by the contracting par
erty or some other cause 1 was igno- ties to draw up a paper stating the con.
I The End of a i
I Lawsuit
I
P R O F E S S IO N A L
CARDS
F. R. BEALS
Tillamook Aiwteac* Company
REAL ESTATE
T h o s . C oa m s . I’ r m m d m n t .
coMPurric m i or ahstoacv •o<*aa
or
T IL L A M O O K
COVM TY,
T ILLA M O O K C IT Y .
W rit« for Literature.
•M IM K m .
ORMOA
T.H. GOTNE,
T IL L A M O O K .
-
-
OU BOOH
« ie<e exe «Me ex# »K* aKeaXeaXMX* «< # «< »«« 9
ATTORNEY AT LAW
$
W . A. W I L L I A M S
KELIABLK HAKNESS MAlvEU $
Harness and S&ddlery
«•
v Pullman Tires and Tubes— Best #
Tillamook, Ore. A
on eartli.
J Tillamook,
-
-
Oregon. J
<* «ke «K<rexe *:<• exe eXe exe exeexe eVe »e t v
Conveyancing, Etc.
Opp. Court House,
Tillamook U n d e rta k in g Go.
It. N. H E N K E L , Proprietor.
Night and Day calls
promptly attended.
Next Door to Jones-Knudson Furniture
Store.
T ILLA M O O K .
-
-
OREGON
ditions of the marriage, one o f which
was that when it became o f no use
financially to either party no opposi
tion would be raised to an annulment
or divorce.
This was to be signed
Just before the marriage ceremony.
The day before the wedding Miss
Starkweather's attorney came to my
office to protest against what he called
ray method of settling the suit, aver
ring that not only was It unprofessional,
but he believed it would result in a
worse tangle than ever
I denied that
it was my plan, but bad been suggested
to me by Miss Starkweather. I had
partly assented to It at first, hoping to
make an amicable match, but since
this plan had failed I declined to ap
prove the plan. Jernegnn had assented
to it on account o f an Immediate pres
sure for funds.
The lawyer begged me to go to his
client with him and dissuade him from
making a marriage that was contracted
in enmity. I consented to do so, and
when we met her I confirmed what lie
said about the probable evil effects of
such a marriage.
“ I relieve you gentlemen.” she said,
“ o f all responsibility in this affair, and
I beg that you will give yourselves no
concern about It whatever. My mind
Is made up Good morning."
That ended the matter so far as we
lawyers were concerned
But I took
the precaution to tell Jim that the wo
man hnd relieved me o f all responsi
bility in the matter and asked him to
do the same. He said that something
must l»e done to procure funds, for he
was on the border of disgrace.
No
matter what resulted from the mar
riage lie would not blame me.
The marriage—It could scarcely be
called a wedding—was appointed for
II o’clock In the morning.
I went
with Jim to the house.
n e didn’t
wear different clothes from Ids usual
dally apparel. On tlie way he seemed
rather melancholy
l fancied that he
was thinking o f the girl who had jilted
him. When we reached the house we
were shown into the drawing room. In
a few minutes a clergyman entered.
It teemed more to me ns If we were to
FRAN K TAYLOR,
N o ta r y P u b lic
C loverd a le, Ore.
take part in n funeral Instend o f a
wedding. W e three sat without speak
ing till a rear door was thrown open,
and tlie bride, in ordinary apparel, at
tended by nn elderly lady, entered.
She was evidently much excited and
kept her eyes on the floor
Tlie parson and I rose, but Jim sat
still. Turning to look at him, I saw on
Ids face an expression o f astonishment
and wonder mixed. He seemed glued
to ids chair. Then, suddenly starting
up. be made several strides to the bride
and stopped before her She raised her
eyes to ids, but there was no surprise
In them.
“ Mildred,” he cried passionately,
“ what means this? Why did you” —
“ I didn’t.”
“ Did you consent to this legal union
knowing me to lie tlie groom?”
There was no reply to this. Again
she dropped her eyes to the floor. Jim
looked at her steadily for a time with
out speaking, then, turning to tho
clergyman, motioned him to proceed
with tlie ceremony.
All these months I had been working
up tlie climax of a romance without
knowing It. Had Jim permitted mo
to tell him anything about Ids legnl
opposer It would have come out that
she was the girl who he considered
hnd Jilted him. Perhaps It Is well ho
did not. for the unreasonableness o f
lovers is proverbial, and had he known
the facts It Is quite likely the climax
might have been different
A fter my visit to Miss Starkweather
she bad investigated tier affairs and
learned that her father had come Into
possession of tlie interest In land
owned by Hausman, who had been part
owner of (he laud bought by him and
Jim's father. In tills w n / slie learned
tlint her lover, with whom site had
quarreled, was her opponent in the
lawsuit. She had then taken her own
peculiar way to effect a reconciliation.
I confess I was tickled to death at
the result of ray initiative, worked out
by tlie marvelous method of a woman.
T w o estranged lovers were brought to
gether. their estate was save«] to them,
and I pocketed a $10.000 fee.