Page:Hugh Pendexter--Tiberius Smith.djvu/184

 his cane. It required all of Tib's official zeal to cause him to hesitate.

"‘Dod rot him! He kicked me!' complained the deacon. 'I'll sue Hi Duzer if this turns out ter be his will.'

"After the old man had been told a few wholesome truths about the sacred nature of last wills and testaments and warned not to meddle with the public archives again, Tib did a little scout-work through the statutes and at last announced that the will must be filed with the court.

"And this, sir, was a neat stroke. Of course, Mr. Remmy began to argue that Tib was not a court of probate and hence had no jurisdiction. But he caught himself in time and swallowed his voice, for he couldn't dope out how Hiram was to file his instrument—ergo, the defendants would win.

"Then up jumped Mr. Bilger, realizing all was almost lost, and began to make the same point, but he remembered in time that it was all off for his client if he doubted my patron's jurisdiction, so he strangled a sob and began to bluff. He said the clauses and codicils would certainly be stabled in the office, providing the beneficiary was allowed to feed 'em. Hi broke in and wanted it stipulated that he should also milk the clauses and borrow the codicils occasionally to do a little cultivating with.