JACOB NOWELL’S WILL.

At his usual hour, upon the evening after his arrival in London, Gilbert Fenton called at the silversmith’s shop in Queen Anne’s Court.  He found Jacob Nowell weaker than when, he had seen him last, and with a strange old look, as if extreme age had come upon him suddenly.  He had been compelled to call in a medical man, very much against his will; and this gentleman had told him that his condition was a critical one, and that it would be well for him to arrange his affairs quickly, and to hold himself prepared for the worst.

He seemed to be slightly agitated when Gilbert told him that his granddaughter had been found.

“Will she come to me, do you think?” he asked.

“I have no doubt that she will do so, directly she hears how ill you have been.  She was very much pleased at the idea of seeing you, and only waited for her husband’s permission to come.  But I don’t suppose she will wait for that when she knows of your illness.  I shall write to her immediately.”

“Do,” Jacob Nowell said eagerly; “I want to see her before I die.  You did not meet the husband, then, I suppose?”

“No; Mr. Holbrook was not there.”

He told Jacob Nowell all that it was possible for him to tell about his interview with Marian; and the old man seemed warmly interested in the subject.  Death was very near him, and the savings of the long dreary years during which his joyless life had been devoted to money-making must soon pass into other hands.  He wanted to know something of the person who was to profit by his death; he wanted to be sure that when he was gone some creature of his own flesh and blood would remember him kindly; not for the sake of his money alone, but for something more than that.

“I shall make my will to-morrow,” he said, before Gilbert left him.  “I don’t mind owning to you that I have something considerable to bequeath; for I think I can trust you.  And if I should die before my grandchild comes to me, you will see that she has her rights, won’t you?  You will take care that she is not cheated by her husband, or by any one else?”

“I shall hold it a sacred charge to protect her interests, so far as it is possible for me to do so.”

“That’s well.  I shall make you one of the executors to my will, if you’ve no objection.”

“No.  The executorship will bring me into collision with Mr. Holbrook, no doubt; but I have resolved upon my line of conduct with regard to him, and I am prepared for whatever may happen.  My chief desire now is to be a real friend to your granddaughter; for I believe she has need of friends.”