human
I have come to consult you, Mr. Sage, about my husband's affairs.
gpt
I am quite at your service, madam.
human
I wanted to see you before I went to the office with the keys of his safe.
gpt
Perhaps, said Mr. Sage,
human
I could spare you that trouble.
gpt
Oh no; his secretary thought I had better come myself, if I could.
human
Very well,
gpt
I suppose the first thing is the will. He told me long ago that his will was made. I suppose it is in the safe. Didn't you draw it, Mr. Sage?
human
Oh yes, the lawyer replied, leaning back in his chair,
gpt
I drew that; a long time ago; shortly after your marriage. And about a year ago I drew another one. Did he ever speak of that?
human
No,
gpt
I wonder, continued Mr. Sage,
human
Executed? queried Carmen, looking up.
gpt
How do you mean, before a magistrate?
human
Oh, no; signed and witnessed. It is very simple. The law requires two witnesses; the testator and the witnesses must declare that they sign in the presence of each other. The witnesses prove the will, or, if they are dead, their signatures can be proved. I was one of the witnesses of the first will, and a clerk of Henderson's, who is still in his office, was the other.
gpt
The last one is probably in the safe if it was executed.
human
Probably, the lawyer assented.
gpt
If not, you'd better look for it in the house.
human
Of course. Whether it exists or not, I want to carry out my husband's intention, Carmen said, sweetly.
gpt
Have you any memorandum of it?
human
I think so, somewhere, but the leading provisions are in my mind. It would astonish the public.
gpt
Why?
human
Well, the property was greater than any of us supposed, and--perhaps I ought not to speak to you of this now, Mrs. Henderson.
gpt
I think I have a right to know what my husband's last wishes were,
human
Well, he had a great scheme. The greater part of his property after the large legacies-- The lawyer saw that Carmen looked pale, and he hesitated a moment, and then said, in a cheery manner:
gpt
Oh, I assure you, madam, that this will gave you a great fortune; all the establishment, and a very great fortune. But the residue was in trust for the building and endowment of an Industrial School on the East Side, with a great library and a reading-room, all to be free. It was a great scheme, and carefully worked out.
human
I am so glad to know this, said Carmen.
gpt
Was there anything else?
human
Only some legacies. And Mr. Sage went on, trying to recall details that his attentive listener already knew. There were legacies to some of his relatives in New Hampshire, and there was a fund, quite a handsome fund, for the poor of the city, called the
gpt
Margaret Fund.