Chapter III: Book I: The Will of Roger Melton (2)

"'4. To the various persons charities and Trustees named in the
schedule attached to this Will and marked A. the various sums
mentioned therein, all free of Duties and Taxes and charges
whatsoever.'"

Here Mr. Trent read out the list here following, and announced for our immediate understanding of the situation the total amount as two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Many of the beneficiaries were old friends, comrades, dependents, and servants, some of them being left quite large sums of money and specific objects, such as curios and pictures.

"'5. To my kinsman and nephew Ernest Roger Halbard Melton presently
living in the house of his father at Humcroft Salop the sum of Ten
thousand pounds sterling.

"'6. To my old and valued friend Edward Bingham Trent of one hundred
and seventy-six Lincoln's Inn Fields sum of Twenty thousand pounds
sterling free from all Duties Taxes and Charges whatsoever to be paid
out of my Five per centum Bonds of the city of Manchester England.

"'7. To my dear nephew Rupert Sent Leger only son of my dear sister
Patience Melton by her marriage with Captain Rupert Sent Leger the
sum of one thousand pounds sterling. I also bequeath to the said
Rupert Sent Leger a further sum conditional upon his acceptance of
the terms of a letter addressed to him marked B, and left in the
custody of the above Edward Bingham Trent and which letter is an
integral part of this my Will. In case of the non-acceptance of the
conditions of such letter, I devise and bequeath the whole of the
sums and properties reserved therein to the executors herein
appointed Colin Alexander MacKelpie and Edward Bingham Trent in trust
to distribute the same in accordance with the terms of the letter in
the present custody of Edward Bingham Trent marked C, and now
deposited sealed with my seal in the sealed envelope containing my
last Will to be kept in the custody of the said Edward Bingham Trent
and which said letter C is also an integral part of my Will. And in
case any doubt should arise as to my ultimate intention as to the
disposal of my property the above-mentioned Executors are to have
full power to arrange and dispose all such matters as may seem best
to them without further appeal. And if any beneficiary under this
Will shall challenge the same or any part of it, or dispute the
validity thereof, he shall forfeit to the general estate the bequest
made herein to him, and any such bequest shall cease and be void to
all intents and purposes whatsoever.

"'8. For proper compliance with laws and duties connected with
testamentary proceedings and to keep my secret trusts secret I direct
my Executors to pay all Death, Estate, Settlement, Legacy,
Succession, or other duties charges impositions and assessments
whatever on the residue of my estate beyond the bequests already
named, at the scale charged in the case of most distant relatives or
strangers in blood.

"'9. I hereby appoint as my Executors Major-General Sir Colin
Alexander MacKelpie, Baronet, of Croom in the County of Ross, and
Edward Bingham Trent Attorney at Law of one hundred and seventy-six
Lincoln's Inn Fields London West Central with full power to exercise
their discretion in any circumstance which may arise in the carrying
out my wishes as expressed in this Will. As reward for their
services in this capacity as Executors they are to receive each out
of the general estate a sum of one hundred thousand pounds sterling
free of all Duties and impositions whatsoever.

"12. The two Memoranda contained in the letters marked B and C are
Integral Parts of this my Last Will are ultimately at the Probate of
the Will to be taken as Clauses 10 and 11 of it. The envelopes are
marked B and C on both envelope and contents and the contents of each
is headed thus: B to be read as Clause 10 of my Will and the other C
to be read as Clause 11 of my Will.

"13. Should either of the above-mentioned Executors die before the
completion of the above year and a half from the date of the Reading
of my Will or before the Conditions rehearsed in Letter C the
remaining Executor shall have all and several the Rights and Duties
entrusted by my Will to both. And if both Executors should die then
the matter of interpretation and execution of all matters in
connection with this my Last Will shall rest with the Lord Chancellor
of England for the time being or with whomsoever he may appoint for
the purpose.

"'This my Last Will is given by me on the first day of January in the
year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seven.

"'ROGER MELTON.

"We Andrew Rossiter and John Colson here in the presence of each
other and of the Testator have seen the Testator Roger Melton sign
and seal this document. In witness thereof we hereby set our names

"'ANDREW ROSSITER clerk of 9 Primrose Avenue London W.C.

"'JOHN COLSON caretaker of 176 Lincoln's Inn Fields and Verger of St.
Tabitha's Church Clerkenwell London.'"

When Mr. Trent had finished the reading he put all the papers together, and tied them up in a bundle again with the red tape. Holding the bundle in his hand, he stood up, saying as he did so:

"That is all, gentlemen, unless any of you wish to ask me any questions; in which case I shall answer, of course, to the best of my power. I shall ask you, Sir Colin, to remain with me, as we have to deal with some matters, or to arrange a time when we may meet to do so. And you also, Mr. Sent Leger, as there is this letter to submit to you. It is necessary that you should open it in the presence of the executors, but there is no necessity that anyone else should be present."

The first to speak was my father. Of course, as a county gentleman of position and estate, who is sometimes asked to take the chair at Sessions--of course, when there is not anyone with a title present--he found himself under the duty of expressing himself first. Old MacKelpie has superior rank; but this was a family affair, in which my father is Head of the House, whilst old MacKelpie is only an outsider brought into it--and then only to the distaff side, by the wife of a younger brother of the man who married into our family. Father spoke with the same look on his face as when he asks important questions of witnesses at Quarter Sessions.

"I should like some points elucidated." The attorney bowed (he gets his 120 thou', any way, so he can afford to be oily--suave, I suppose he would call it); so father looked at a slip of paper in his hand and asked:

"How much is the amount of the whole estate?"

The attorney answered quickly, and I thought rather rudely. He was red in the face, and didn't bow this time; I suppose a man of his class hasn't more than a very limited stock of manners:

"That, sir, I am not at liberty to tell you. And I may say that I would not if I could."

"Is it a million?" said father again. He was angry this time, and even redder than the old attorney. The attorney said in answer, very quietly this time:

"Ah, that's cross-examining. Let me say, sir, that no one can know that until the accountants to be appointed for the purpose have examined the affairs of the testator up to date."

Mr. Rupert St. Leger, who was looking all this time angrier than even the attorney or my father--though at what he had to be angry about I can't imagine--struck his fist on the table and rose up as if to speak, but as he caught sight of both old MacKelpie and the attorney he sat down again. _Mem._--Those three seem to agree too well. I must keep a sharp eye on them. I didn't think of this part any more at the time, for father asked another question which interested me much:

"May I ask why the other matters of the Will are not shown to us?" The attorney wiped his spectacles carefully with a big silk bandanna handkerchief before he answered:

"Simply because each of the two letters marked 'B' and 'C' is enclosed with instructions regarding their opening and the keeping secret of their contents. I shall call your attention to the fact that both envelopes are sealed, and that the testator and both witnesses have signed their names across the flap of each envelope. I shall read them. The letter marked 'B,' directed to 'Rupert Sent Leger,' is thus endorsed:

"'This letter is to be given to Rupert Sent Leger by the Trustees and
is to be opened by him in their presence. He is to take such copy or
make such notes as he may wish and is then to hand the letter with
envelope to the Executors who are at once to read it, each of them
being entitled to make copy or notes if desirous of so doing. The
letter is then to be replaced in its envelope and letter and envelope
are to be placed in another envelope to be endorsed on outside as to
its contents and to be signed across the flap by both the Executors
and by the said Rupert Sent Leger.

"'(Signed) ROGER MELTON 1/6/'06.

"The letter marked 'C,' directed to 'Edward Bingham Trent,' is thus endorsed:

"'This letter directed to Edward Bingham Trent is to be kept by him
unopened for a term of two years after the reading of my Last Will
unless said period is earlier terminated by either the acceptance or
refusal of Rupert Sent Leger to accept the conditions mentioned in my
letter to him marked 'B' which he is to receive and read in the
presence of my Executors at the same meeting as but subsequent to the
Reading of the clauses (except those to be ultimately numbers ten and
eleven) of my Last Will. This letter contains instructions as to
what both the Executors and the said Rupert Sent Leger are to do when
such acceptance or refusal of the said Rupert Sent Leger has been
made known, or if he omit or refuse to make any such acceptance or
refusal, at the end of two years next after my decease.

"'(Signed) ROGER MELTON 1/6/'06.'"

When the attorney had finished reading the last letter he put it carefully in his pocket. Then he took the other letter in his hand, and stood up. "Mr. Rupert Sent Leger," he said, "please to open this letter, and in such a way that all present may see that the memorandum at top of the contents is given as--

"'B. To be read as clause ten of my Will.'"

St. Leger rolled up his sleeves and cuffs just as if he was going to perform some sort of prestidigitation--it was very theatrical and ridiculous--then, his wrists being quite bare, he opened the envelope and took out the letter. We all saw it quite well. It was folded with the first page outward, and on the top was written a line just as the attorney said. In obedience to a request from the attorney, he laid both letter and envelope on the table in front of him. The clerk then rose up, and, after handing a piece of paper to the attorney, went back to his seat. Mr. Trent, having written something on the paper, asked us all who were present, even the clerk and the shorthand man, to look at the memorandum on the letter and what was written on the envelope, and to sign the paper, which ran:

"We the signatories of this paper hereby declare that we have seen the sealed letter marked B and enclosed in the Will of Roger Melton opened in the presence of us all including Mr. Edward Bingham Trent and Sir Colin Alexander MacKelpie and we declare that the paper therein contained was headed 'B. To be read as clause ten of my Will' and that there were no other contents in the envelope. In attestation of which we in the presence of each other append our signatures."

The attorney motioned to my father to begin. Father is a cautious man, and he asked for a magnifying-glass, which was shortly brought to him by a clerk for whom the clerk in the room called. Father examined the envelope all over very carefully, and also the memorandum at top of the paper. Then, without a word, he signed the paper. Father is a just man. Then we all signed. The attorney folded the paper and put it in an envelope. Before closing it he passed it round, and we all saw that it had not been tampered with. Father took it out and read it, and then put it back. Then the attorney asked us all to sign it across the flap, which we did. Then he put the sealing-wax on it and asked father to seal it with his own seal. He did so. Then he and MacKelpie sealed it also with their own seals, Then he put it in another envelope, which he sealed himself, and he and MacKelpie signed it across the flap.

Then father stood up, and so did I. So did the two men--the clerk and the shorthand writer. Father did not say a word till we got out into the street. We walked along, and presently we passed an open gate into the fields. He turned back, saying to me:

"Come in here. There is no one about, and we can be quiet. I want to speak to you." When we sat down on a seat with none other near it, father said:

"You are a student of the law. What does all that mean?" I thought it a good occasion for an epigram, so I said one word:

"Bilk!"

"H'm!" said father; "that is so far as you and I are concerned. You with a beggarly ten thousand, and I with twenty. But what is, or will be, the effect of those secret trusts?"

"Oh, that," I said, "will, I dare say, be all right. Uncle Roger evidently did not intend the older generation to benefit too much by his death. But he only gave Rupert St. Leger one thousand pounds, whilst he gave me ten. That looks as if he had more regard for the direct line. Of course--" Father interrupted me:

"But what was the meaning of a further sum?"

"I don't know, father. There was evidently some condition which he was to fulfil; but he evidently didn't expect that he would. Why, otherwise, did he leave a second trust to Mr. Trent?"

"True!" said father. Then he went on: "I wonder why he left those enormous sums to Trent and old MacKelpie. They seem out of all proportion as executors' fees, unless--"

"Unless what, father?"

"Unless the fortune he has left is an enormous one. That is why I asked."

"And that," I laughed, "is why he refused to answer."

"Why, Ernest, it must run into big figures."

"Right-ho, father. The death-duties will be annoying. What a beastly swindle the death-duties are! Why, I shall suffer even on your own little estate . . . "

"That will do!" he said curtly. Father is so ridiculously touchy. One would think he expects to live for ever. Presently he spoke again:

"I wonder what are the conditions of that trust. They are as important--almost--as the amount of the bequest--whatever it is. By the way, there seems to be no mention in the will of a residuary legatee. Ernest, my boy, we may have to fight over that."

"How do you make that out, father?" I asked. He had been very rude over the matter of the death-duties of his own estate, though it is entailed and I _must_ inherit. So I determined to let him see that I know a good deal more than he does--of law, at any rate. "I fear that when we come to look into it closely that dog won't fight. In the first place, that may be all arranged in the letter to St. Leger, which is a part of the Will. And if that letter should be inoperative by his refusal of the conditions (whatever they may be), then the letter to the attorney begins to work. What it is we don't know, and perhaps even he doesn't--I looked at it as well as I could--and we law men are trained to observation. But even if the instructions mentioned as being in Letter C fail, then the corpus of the Will gives full power to Trent to act just as he darn pleases. He can give the whole thing to himself if he likes, and no one can say a word. In fact, he is himself the final court of appeal."

"H'm!" said father to himself. "It is a queer kind of will, I take it, that can override the Court of Chancery. We shall perhaps have to try it before we are done with this!" With that he rose, and we walked home together--without saying another word.

My mother was very inquisitive about the whole thing--women always are. Father and I between us told her all it was necessary for her to know. I think we were both afraid that, woman-like, she would make trouble for us by saying or doing something injudicious. Indeed, she manifested such hostility towards Rupert St. Leger that it is quite on the cards that she may try to injure him in some way. So when father said that he would have to go out shortly again, as he wished to consult his solicitor, I jumped up and said I would go with him, as I, too, should take advice as to how I stood in the matter.

_The Contents of Letter marked_ "_B_" _attached as an Integral Part to the Last Will of Roger Melton_.

_June_ 11, 1907.

"This letter an integral part of my Last Will regards the entire
residue of my estate beyond the specific bequests made in the body of
my Will. It is to appoint as Residuary Legatee of such Will--in case
he may accept in due form the Conditions herein laid down--my dear
Nephew Rupert Sent Leger only son of my sister Patience Melton now
deceased by her marriage with Captain Rupert Sent Leger also now
deceased. On his acceptance of the Conditions and the fulfilment of
the first of them the Entire residue of my estate after payments of
all specific Legacies and of all my debts and other obligations is to
become his absolute property to be dealt with or disposed of as he
may desire. The following are the conditions.

"1. He is to accept provisionally by letter addressed to my
Executors a sum of nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand pounds
sterling free of all Duties Taxes or other imposts. This he will
hold for a period of six months from the date of the Reading of my
Last Will and have user of the accruements thereto calculated at the
rate of ten per centum per annum which amount he shall under no
circumstances be required to replace. At the end of said six months
he must express in writing directed to the Executors of my Will his
acceptance or refusal of the other conditions herein to follow. But
if he may so choose he shall be free to declare in writing to the
Executors within one week from the time of the Reading of the Will
his wish to accept or to withdraw altogether from the responsibility
of this Trust. In case of withdrawal he is to retain absolutely and
for his own use the above-mentioned sum of nine hundred and
ninety-nine thousand pounds sterling free of all Duties Taxes and
imposts whatsoever making with the specific bequest of one thousand
pounds a clear sum of one million pounds sterling free of all
imposts. And he will from the moment of the delivery of such written
withdrawal cease to have any right or interest whatsoever in the
further disposition of my estate under this instrument. Should such
written withdrawal be received by my Executors they shall have
possession of such residue of my estate as shall remain after the
payment of the above sum of nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand
pounds sterling and the payment of all Duties Taxes assessments or
Imposts as may be entailed by law by its conveyance to the said
Rupert Sent Leger and these my Executors shall hold the same for the
further disposal of it according to the instructions given in the
letter marked C and which is also an integral part of my Last Will
and Testament.

"2. If at or before the expiration of the six months above-mentioned
the said Rupert Sent Leger shall have accepted the further conditions
herein stated, he is to have user of the entire income produced by
such residue of my estate the said income being paid to him Quarterly
on the usual Quarter Days by the aforesaid Executors to wit Major
General Sir Colin Alexander MacKelpie Bart. and Edward Bingham Trent
to be used by him in accordance with the terms and conditions
hereinafter mentioned.

"3. The said Rupert Sent Leger is to reside for a period of at least
six months to begin not later than three months from the reading of
my Will in the Castle of Vissarion in the Land of the Blue Mountains.
And if he fulfil the Conditions imposed on him and shall thereby
become possessed of the residue of my estate he is to continue to
reside there in part for a period of one year. He is not to change
his British Nationality except by a formal consent of the Privy
Council of Great Britain.

"At the end of a year and a half from the Reading of my Will he is to
report in person to my Executors of the expenditure of amounts paid
or due by him in the carrying out of the Trust and if they are
satisfied that same are in general accord with the conditions named
in above-mentioned letter marked C and which is an integral part of
my Will they are to record their approval on such Will which can then
go for final Probate and Taxation. On the Completion of which the
said Rupert Sent Leger shall become possessed absolutely and without
further act or need of the entire residue of my estate. In witness
whereof, etc.

"(Signed) ROGER MELTON."

This document is attested by the witnesses to the Will on the same date.

(_Personal and Confidential_.)

MEMORANDA MADE BY EDWARD BINGHAM TRENT IN CONNECTION WITH THE WILL OF
ROGER MELTON.

_January_ 3, 1907.

The interests and issues of all concerned in the Will and estate of
the late Roger Melton of Openshaw Grange are so vast that in case any
litigation should take place regarding the same, I, as the solicitor,
having the carriage of the testator's wishes, think it well to make
certain memoranda of events, conversations, etc., not covered by
documentary evidence. I make the first memorandum immediately after
the event, whilst every detail of act and conversation is still fresh
in my mind. I shall also try to make such comments thereon as may
serve to refresh my memory hereafter, and which in case of my death
may perhaps afford as opinions contemporaneously recorded some
guiding light to other or others who may later on have to continue
and complete the tasks entrusted to me.

I.

CONCERNING THE READING OF THE WILL OF ROGER MELTON.

When, beginning at 11 o'clock a.m. on this the forenoon of Thursday,
the 3rd day of January, 1907, I opened the Will and read it in full,
except the clauses contained in the letters marked "B" and "C"; there
were present in addition to myself, the following:

1. Ernest Halbard Melton, J.P, nephew of the testator.

2. Ernest Roger Halbard Melton, son of the above.

3. Rupert Sent Leger, nephew of the testator.

4. Major-General Sir Colin Alexander MacKelpie, Bart., co-executor
with myself of the Will.

5. Andrew Rossiter, my clerk, one of the witnesses of the testator's
Will.

6. Alfred Nugent, stenographer (of Messrs. Castle's office, 21,
Bream's Buildings, W.C.).

When the Will had been read, Mr. E. H. Melton asked the value of the estate left by the testator, which query I did not feel empowered or otherwise able to answer; and a further query, as to why those present were not shown the secret clauses of the Will. I answered by reading the instructions endorsed on the envelopes of the two letters marked "B" and "C," which were sufficiently explanatory.

But, lest any question should hereafter arise as to the fact that the memoranda in letters marked "B" and "C," which were to be read as clauses 10 and 11 of the Will, I caused Rupert Sent Leger to open the envelope marked "B" in the presence of all in the room. These all signed a paper which I had already prepared, to the effect that they had seen the envelope opened, and that the memorandum marked "B. To be read as clause ten of my Will," was contained in the envelope, of which it was to be the sole contents. Mr. Ernest Halbard Melton, J.P., before signing, carefully examined with a magnifying-glass, for which he had asked, both the envelope and the heading of the memorandum enclosed in the letter. He was about to turn the folded paper which was lying on the table over, by which he might have been able to read the matter of the memorandum had he so desired. I at once advised him that the memorandum he was to sign dealt only with the heading of the page, and not with the matter. He looked very angry, but said nothing, and after a second scrutiny signed. I put the memorandum in an envelope, which we all signed across the flap. Before signing, Mr Ernest Halbard Melton took out the paper and verified it. I then asked him to close it, which he did, and when the sealing-wax was on it he sealed it with his own seal. Sir Colin A. MacKelpie and I also appended our own seals. I put the envelope in another, which I sealed with my own seal, and my co-executor and I signed it across the flap and added the date. I took charge of this. When the others present had taken their departure, my co-executor and I, together with Mr. Rupert Sent Leger, who had remained at my request, went into my private room.

Here Mr. Rupert Sent Leger read the memorandum marked "B," which is to be read as clause 10 of the Will. He is evidently a man of considerable nerve, for his face was quite impassive as he read the document, which conveyed to him (subject to the conditions laid down) a fortune which has no equal in amount in Europe, even, so far as I know, amongst the crowned heads. When he had read it over a second time he stood up and said:

"I wish I had known my uncle better. He must have had the heart of a king. I never heard of such generosity as he has shown me. Mr. Trent, I see, from the conditions of this memorandum, or codicil, or whatever it is, that I am to declare within a week as to whether I accept the conditions imposed on me. Now, I want you to tell me this: must I wait a week to declare?" In answer, I told him that the testator's intention was manifestly to see that he had full time to consider fully every point before making formal decision and declaration. But, in answer to the specific question, I could answer that he might make declaration when he would, provided it was _within_, or rather not after, the week named. I added:

"But I strongly advise you not to act hurriedly. So enormous a sum is involved that you may be sure that all possible efforts will be made by someone or other to dispossess you of your inheritance, and it will be well that everything shall be done, not only in perfect order, but with such manifest care and deliberation that there can be no question as to your intention."

"Thank you, sir," he answered; "I shall do as you shall kindly advise me in this as in other things. But I may tell you now--and you, too, my dear Sir Colin--that I not only accept my Uncle Roger's conditions in this, but that when the time comes in the other matters I shall accept every condition that he had in his mind--and that I may know of--in everything." He looked exceedingly in earnest, and it gave me much pleasure to see and hear him. It was just what a young man should do who had seen so generously treated. As the time had now come, I gave him the bulky letter addressed to him, marked "D" which I had in my safe. As I fulfilled my obligation in the matter, I said:

"You need not read the letter here. You can take it away with you, and read it by yourself at leisure. It is your own property, without any obligation whatever attached to it. By the way, perhaps it would be well if you knew. I have a copy sealed up in an envelope, and endorsed, 'To be opened if occasion should arise,' but not otherwise. Will you see me to-morrow, or, better still, dine with me alone here to-night? I should like to have a talk with you, and you may wish to ask me some questions." He answered me cordially. I actually felt touched by the way he said good-bye before he went away. Sir Colin MacKelpie went with him, as Sent Leger was to drop him at the Reform.

_Letter from Roger Melton to Rupert Sent Leger_, _endorsed_ "_D. re Rupert Sent Leger_. _To be given to him by Edward Bingham Trent if and as soon as he has declared_ (_formally or informally_) _his intention of accepting the conditions named in Letter B._, _forming Clause_ 10 _in my Will_. _R. M._, 1/1/'07.

"_Mem._--Copy (sealed) left in custody of E. B. Trent, to be opened if necessary, as directed."

_June_ 11, 1906.

My Dear Nephew,

When (if ever) you receive this you will know that (with the
exception of some definite bequests) I have left to you, under
certain conditions, the entire bulk of my fortune--a fortune so great
that by its aid as a help, a man of courage and ability may carve out
for himself a name and place in history. The specific conditions
contained in Clause 10 of my Will have to be observed, for such I
deem to be of service to your own fortune; but herein I give my
advice, which you are at liberty to follow or not as you will, and my
wishes, which I shall try to explain fully and clearly, so that you
may be in possession of my views in case you should desire to carry
them out, or, at least, to so endeavour that the results I hope for
may be ultimately achieved. First let me explain--for your
understanding and your guidance--that the power, or perhaps it had
better be called the pressure, behind the accumulation of my fortune
has been ambition. In obedience to its compulsion, I toiled early
and late until I had so arranged matters that, subject to broad
supervision, my ideas could be carried out by men whom I had selected
and tested, and not found wanting. This was for years to the
satisfaction, and ultimately to the accumulation by these men of
fortune commensurate in some measure to their own worth and their
importance to my designs. Thus I had accumulated, whilst still a
young man, a considerable fortune. This I have for over forty years
used sparingly as regards my personal needs, daringly with regard to
speculative investments. With the latter I took such very great
care, studying the conditions surrounding them so thoroughly, that
even now my schedule of bad debts or unsuccessful investments is
almost a blank. Perhaps by such means things flourished with me, and
wealth piled in so fast that at times I could hardly use it to
advantage. This was all done as the forerunner of ambition, but I
was over fifty years of age when the horizon of ambition itself
opened up to me. I speak thus freely, my dear Rupert, as when you
read it I shall have passed away, and not ambition nor the fear of
misunderstanding, nor even of scorn can touch me. My ventures in
commerce and finance covered not only the Far East, but every foot of
the way to it, so that the Mediterranean and all its opening seas
were familiar to me. In my journeyings up and down the Adriatic I
was always struck by the great beauty and seeming richness--native
richness--of the Land of the Blue Mountains. At last Chance took me
into that delectable region. When the "Balkan Struggle" of '90 was
on, one of the great Voivodes came to me in secret to arrange a large
loan for national purposes. It was known in financial circles of
both Europe and Asia that I took an active part in the _haute
politique_ of national treasuries, and the Voivode Vissarion came to
me as to one able and willing to carry out his wishes. After
confidential pour-parlers, he explained to me that his nation was in
the throes of a great crisis. As you perhaps know, the gallant
little Nation in the Land of the Blue Mountains has had a strange
history. For more than a thousand years--ever since its settlement
after the disaster of Rossoro--it had maintained its national
independence under several forms of Government. At first it had a
King whose successors became so despotic that they were dethroned.
Then it was governed by its Voivodes, with the combining influence of
a Vladika somewhat similar in power and function to the
Prince-Bishops of Montenegro; afterwards by a Prince; or, as at
present, by an irregular elective Council, influenced in a modified
form by the Vladika, who was then supposed to exercise a purely
spiritual function. Such a Council in a small, poor nation did not
have sufficient funds for armaments, which were not immediately and
imperatively necessary; and therefore the Voivode Vissarion, who had
vast estates in his own possession, and who was the present
representative a family which of old had been leaders in the land,
found it a duty to do on his own account that which the State could
not do. For security as to the loan which he wished to get, and
which was indeed a vast one, he offered to sell me his whole estate
if I would secure to him a right to repurchase it within a given time
(a time which I may say has some time ago expired). He made it a
condition that the sale and agreement should remain a strict secret
between us, as a widespread knowledge that his estate had changed
hands would in all probability result in my death and his own at the
hands of the mountaineers, who are beyond everything loyal, and were
jealous to the last degree. An attack by Turkey was feared, and new
armaments were required; and the patriotic Voivode was sacrificing
his own great fortune for the public good. What a sacrifice this was
he well knew, for in all discussions regarding a possible change in
the Constitution of the Blue Mountains it was always taken for
granted that if the principles of the Constitution should change to a
more personal rule, his own family should be regarded as the Most
Noble. It had ever been on the side of freedom in olden time; before
the establishment of the Council, or even during the rule of the
Voivodes, the Vissarion had every now and again stood out against the
King or challenged the Princedom. The very name stood for freedom,
for nationality, against foreign oppression; and the bold
mountaineers were devoted to it, as in other free countries men
follow the flag.

Such loyalty was a power and a help in the land, for it knew danger
in every form; and anything which aided the cohesion of its integers
was a natural asset. On every side other powers, great and small,
pressed the land, anxious to acquire its suzerainty by any
means--fraud or force. Greece, Turkey, Austria, Russia, Italy,
France, had all tried in vain. Russia, often hurled back, was
waiting an opportunity to attack. Austria and Greece, although
united by no common purpose or design, were ready to throw in their
forces with whomsoever might seem most likely to be victor. Other
Balkan States, too, were not lacking in desire to add the little
territory of the Blue Mountains to their more ample possessions.
Albania, Dalmatia, Herzegovina, Servia, Bulgaria, looked with lustful
eyes on the land, which was in itself a vast natural fortress, having
close under its shelter perhaps the finest harbour between Gibraltar
and the Dardanelles.

But the fierce, hardy mountaineers were unconquerable. For centuries
they had fought, with a fervour and fury that nothing could withstand
or abate, attacks on their independence. Time after time, century
after century, they had opposed with dauntless front invading armies
sent against them. This unquenchable fire of freedom had had its
effect. One and all, the great Powers knew that to conquer that
little nation would be no mean task, but rather that of a tireless
giant. Over and over again had they fought with units against
hundreds, never ceasing until they had either wiped out their foes
entirely or seen them retreat across the frontier in diminished
numbers.

For many years past, however, the Land of the Blue Mountains had
remained unassailable, for all the Powers and States had feared lest
the others should unite against the one who should begin the attack.

At the time I speak of there was a feeling throughout the Blue
Mountains--and, indeed, elsewhere--that Turkey was preparing for a
war of offence. The objective of her attack was not known anywhere,
but here there was evidence that the Turkish "Bureau of Spies" was in
active exercise towards their sturdy little neighbour. To prepare
for this, the Voivode Peter Vissarion approached me in order to
obtain the necessary "sinews of war."

The situation was complicated by the fact that the Elective Council
was at present largely held together by the old Greek Church, which
was the religion of the people, and which had had since the beginning
its destinies linked in a large degree with theirs. Thus it was
possible that if a war should break out, it might easily
become--whatever might have been its cause or beginnings--a war of
creeds. This in the Balkans must be largely one of races, the end of
which no mind could diagnose or even guess at.

I had now for some time had knowledge of the country and its people,
and had come to love them both. The nobility of Vissarion's
self-sacrifice at once appealed to me, and I felt that I, too, should
like to have a hand in the upholding of such a land and such a
people. They both deserved freedom. When Vissarion handed me the
completed deed of sale I was going to tear it up; but he somehow
recognized my intention, and forestalled it. He held up his hand
arrestingly as he said:

"I recognize your purpose, and, believe me, I honour you for it from
the very depths of my soul. But, my friend, it must not be. Our
mountaineers are proud beyond belief. Though they would allow
me--who am one of themselves, and whose fathers have been in some way
leaders and spokesmen amongst them for many centuries--to do all that
is in my power to do--and what, each and all, they would be glad to
do were the call to them--they would not accept aid from one outside
themselves. My good friend, they would resent it, and might show to
you, who wish us all so well, active hostility, which might end in
danger, or even death. That was why, my friend, I asked to put a
clause in our agreement, that I might have right to repurchase my
estate, regarding which you would fain act so generously."

Thus it is, my dear nephew Rupert, only son of my dear sister, that I
hereby charge you solemnly as you value me--as you value yourself--as
you value honour, that, should it ever become known that that noble
Voivode, Peter Vissarion, imperilled himself for his country's good,
and if it be of danger or evil repute to him that even for such a
purpose he sold his heritage, you shall at once and to the knowledge
of the mountaineers--though not necessarily to others--reconvey to
him or his heirs the freehold that he was willing to part with--and
that he has _de facto_ parted with by the effluxion of the time
during which his right of repurchase existed. This is a secret trust
and duty which is between thee and me alone in the first instance; a
duty which I have undertaken on behalf of my heirs, and which must be
carried out, at whatsoever cost may ensue. You must not take it that
it is from any mistrust of you or belief that you will fail that I
have taken another measure to insure that this my cherished idea is
borne out. Indeed, it is that the law may, in case of need--for no
man can know what may happen after his own hand be taken from the
plough--be complied with, that I have in another letter written for
the guidance of others, directed that in case of any failure to carry
out this trust--death or other--the direction become a clause or
codicil to my Will. But in the meantime I wish that this be kept a
secret between us two. To show you the full extent of my confidence,
let me here tell you that the letter alluded to above is marked "C,"
and directed to my solicitor and co-executor, Edward Bingham Trent,
which is finally to be regarded as clause eleven of my Will. To
which end he has my instructions and also a copy of this letter,
which is, in case of need, and that only, to be opened, and is to be
a guide to my wishes as to the carrying out by you of the conditions
on which you inherit.

And now, my dear nephew, let me change to another subject more dear
to me--yourself. When you read this I shall have passed away, so
that I need not be hampered now by that reserve which I feel has
grown upon me through a long and self-contained life. Your mother
was very dear to me. As you know, she was twenty years younger than
her youngest brother, who was two years younger than me. So we were
all young men when she was a baby, and, I need not say, a pet amongst
us--almost like our own child to each of us, as well as our sister.
You knew her sweetness and high quality, so I need say nothing of
these; but I should like you to understand that she was very dear to
me. When she and your father came to know and love each other I was
far away, opening up a new branch of business in the interior of
China, and it was not for several months that I got home news. When
I first heard of him they had already been married. I was delighted
to find that they were very happy. They needed nothing that I could
give. When he died so suddenly I tried to comfort her, and all I had
was at her disposal, did she want it. She was a proud woman--though
not with me. She had come to understand that, though I seemed cold
and hard (and perhaps was so generally), I was not so to her. But
she would not have help of any kind. When I pressed her, she told me
that she had enough for your keep and education and her own
sustenance for the time she must still live; that your father and she
had agreed that you should be brought up to a healthy and strenuous
life rather than to one of luxury; and she thought that it would be
better for the development of your character that you should learn to
be self-reliant and to be content with what your dear father had left
you. She had always been a wise and thoughtful girl, and now all her
wisdom and thought were for you, your father's and her child. When
she spoke of you and your future, she said many things which I
thought memorable. One of them I remember to this day. It was
apropos of my saying that there is a danger of its own kind in
extreme poverty. A young man might know too much want. She answered
me: "True! That is so! But there is a danger that overrides it;"
and after a time went on:

"It is better not to know wants than not to know want!" I tell you,
boy, that is a great truth, and I hope you will remember it for
yourself as well as a part of the wisdom of your mother. And here
let me say something else which is a sort of corollary of that wise
utterance:

I dare say you thought me very hard and unsympathetic that time I
would not, as one of your trustees, agree to your transferring your
little fortune to Miss MacKelpie. I dare say you bear a grudge
towards me about it up to this day. Well, if you have any of that
remaining, put it aside when you know the truth. That request of
yours was an unspeakable delight to me. It was like your mother
coming back from the dead. That little letter of yours made me wish
for the first time that I had a son--and that he should be like you.
I fell into a sort of reverie, thinking if I were yet too old to
marry, so that a son might be with me in my declining years--if such
were to ever be for me. But I concluded that this might not be.
There was no woman whom I knew or had ever met with that I could love
as your mother loved your father and as he loved her. So I resigned
myself to my fate. I must go my lonely road on to the end. And then
came a ray of light into my darkness: there was you. Though you
might not feel like a son to me--I could not expect it when the
memory of that sweet relationship was more worthily filled. But I
could feel like a father to you. Nothing could prevent that or
interfere with it, for I would keep it as my secret in the very holy
of holies of my heart, where had been for thirty years the image of a
sweet little child--your mother. My boy, when in your future life
you shall have happiness and honour and power, I hope you will
sometimes give a thought to the lonely old man whose later years your
very existence seemed to brighten.

The thought of your mother recalled me to my duty. I had undertaken
for her a sacred task: to carry out her wishes regarding her son. I
knew how she would have acted. It might--would--have been to her a
struggle of inclination and duty; and duty would have won. And so I
carried out my duty, though I tell you it was a harsh and bitter task
to me at the time. But I may tell you that I have since been glad
when I think of the result. I tried, as you may perhaps remember, to
carry out your wishes in another way, but your letter put the
difficulty of doing so so clearly before me that I had to give it up.
And let me tell you that that letter endeared you to me more than
ever.

I need not tell you that thenceforth I followed your life very
closely. When you ran away to sea, I used in secret every part of
the mechanism of commerce to find out what had become of you. Then,
until you had reached your majority, I had a constant watch kept upon
you--not to interfere with you in any way, but so that I might be
able to find you should need arise. When in due course I heard of
your first act on coming of age I was satisfied. I had to know of
the carrying out of your original intention towards Janet Mac Kelpie,
for the securities had to be transferred.

From that time on I watched--of course through other eyes--your chief
doings. It would have been a pleasure to me to have been able to
help in carrying out any hope or ambition of yours, but I realized
that in the years intervening between your coming of age and the
present moment you were fulfilling your ideas and ambitions in your
own way, and, as I shall try to explain to you presently, my
ambitions also. You were of so adventurous a nature that even my own
widely-spread machinery of acquiring information--what I may call my
private "intelligence department"--was inadequate. My machinery was
fairly adequate for the East--in great part, at all events. But you
went North and South, and West also, and, in addition, you essayed
realms where commerce and purely real affairs have no
foothold--worlds of thought, of spiritual import, of psychic
phenomena--speaking generally, of mysteries. As now and again I was
baffled in my inquiries, I had to enlarge my mechanism, and to this
end started--not in my own name, of course--some new magazines
devoted to certain branches of inquiry and adventure. Should you
ever care to know more of these things, Mr. Trent, in whose name the
stock is left, will be delighted to give you all details. Indeed,
these stocks, like all else I have, shall be yours when the time
comes, if you care to ask for them. By means of _The Journal of
Adventure_, _The Magazine of Mystery_, _Occultism_, _Balloon and
Aeroplane_, _The Submarine_, _Jungle and Pampas_, _The Ghost World_,
_The Explorer_, _Forest and Island_, _Ocean and Creek_, I was often
kept informed when I should otherwise have been ignorant of your
whereabouts and designs. For instance, when you had disappeared into
the Forest of the Incas, I got the first whisper of your strange
adventures and discoveries in the buried cities of Eudori from a
correspondent of _The Journal of Adventure_ long before the details
given in _The Times_ of the rock-temple of the primeval savages,
where only remained the little dragon serpents, whose giant ancestors
were rudely sculptured on the sacrificial altar. I well remember how
I thrilled at even that meagre account of your going in alone into
that veritable hell. It was from _Occultism_ that I learned how you
had made a stay alone in the haunted catacombs of Elora, in the far
recesses of the Himalayas, and of the fearful experiences which, when
you came out shuddering and ghastly, overcame to almost epileptic
fear those who had banded themselves together to go as far as the
rock-cut approach to the hidden temple.

All such things I read with rejoicing. You were shaping yourself for
a wider and loftier adventure, which would crown more worthily your
matured manhood. When I read of you in a description of Mihask, in
Madagascar, and the devil-worship there rarely held, I felt I had
only to wait for your home-coming in order to broach the enterprise I
had so long contemplated. This was what I read:

"He is a man to whom no adventure is too wild or too daring. His
reckless bravery is a byword amongst many savage peoples and amongst
many others not savages, whose fears are not of material things, but
of the world of mysteries in and beyond the grave. He dares not only
wild animals and savage men; but has tackled African magic and Indian
mysticism. The Psychical Research Society has long exploited his
deeds of valiance, and looked upon him as perhaps their most trusted
agent or source of discovery. He is in the very prime of life, of
almost giant stature and strength, trained to the use of all arms of
all countries, inured to every kind of hardship, subtle-minded and
resourceful, understanding human nature from its elemental form up.
To say that he is fearless would be inadequate. In a word, he is a
man whose strength and daring fit him for any enterprise of any kind.
He would dare and do anything in the world or out of it, on the earth
or under it, in the sea or--in the air, fearing nothing material or
unseen, not man or ghost, nor God nor Devil."

If you ever care to think of it, I carried that cutting in my
pocket-book from that hour I read it till now.