"He opened the document and began to read it to me, as I sat with my back towards him, for he had turned round to get the full benefit of the light of the chandelier. He read for perhaps a couple of minutes, and then stopped. I concluded that he was considering the advisability of not reading to me the ensuing paragraph, which might perhaps refer to a trifling legacy which he intended to bestow on me. After a pause, I asked him why he did not go on, and, as he made no answer, I turned round to repeat my question. He was dead.
"I alarmed the household; but, before they answered my summons, it occurred to me that, as I was his heir-at-law, and moreover deeply in debt—and further, as nobody but myself was aware of the fact that the will had been taken from the office, I might as well take possession of it and destroy it altogether. Accordingly, I took possession of it, and, in due course, of the bulk of Mr. Pintle's property. On second thoughts I did not destroy the will, for, as I was under orders for the Crimea, I thought it possible that I might be killed, and, in the event of that melancholy occurrence, neither the will nor the property would be of any further use to me, whereas they might prove of considerable value to yourself and the other legatees. So they are quite at your service.
"Herbert Redfern,
"Capt., H.M. 16th Lancers."
Mrs. Pintle folded the letter deliberately, restored it
to its envelope, and placed the envelope in her pocket.
