_ CHAPTER VIII. WHAT THE BROKER'S WILL SAID
When the Bradys entered the morgue they found Lizzie Dalton there, bitterly weeping, and the keeper showing her the body said to be her father's.
The man's head was gone, as if it had been severed by the wheels of a passing boat. The hands were nearly destroyed and the clothing was in a good state. The keeper was asking the girl:
"An' yer recognize him as yer father?"
"It must be," replied Lizzie, with a sob. "On the finger is a ring which I know belonged to him, the clothing certainly is his and the keys, papers and penknife found in the pockets belonged to him. As you can see, the envelopes have his name and address on them."
Just then the girl saw the Bradys.
They bowed to her and Old King Brady said, in kindly tones:
"We hope you will make no error, Miss Dalton. Let the identification be complete. Everything depends upon your verdict."
"Oh, I am positive it is poor papa," said the weeping girl, "for no one but he could have had the things found on this corpse."
The detectives examined the body and the effects.
They then left the Morgue with the girl.
She was deeply affected and they brought her home in a carriage.
When they left her at her door and departed, the Bradys were in a bewildered state of mind and the old detective said:
"Harry, I'm completely puzzled again."
"On account of the girl's positive identification of that body?"
"Yes. If it wasn't Dalton's corpse she would not declare it was."
"But how about the body we traced to the swamp in Georgia? Could it have been brought North again and thrown in the river here?"
"Such a thing might have occurred."
"It seems improbable, though."
"Very true. But there's no way to account for the finding of this body here unless that's what happened."
"Then we are beyond our depth again."
"So it appears. We may be deep enough to solve an ordinary mystery, but the depth of this one seems to be too much for us. At first we imagined we had the whole thing thoroughly sifted out. Now we've received a severe setback. It brings us to where we started, practically. All our theories may have been wrong. Sim Johnson and Ronald Mason may be innocent men. Perhaps we wronged them by unjust suspicions based upon circumstantial evidence."
"Then you think we had better drop the case?"
Old King Brady nodded, and replied:
"I don't see what else we can do now. If the man found in the river is Dalton, the body is in such a state that it will be utterly impossible to tell whether he was a victim of foul play, suicide, or accident. There is absolutely nothing about the body to indicate what the cause of his death was."
"I don't fancy giving up the case."
"Well, we never before found a job we couldn't finish successfully," said the old detective. "But how we are to unravel the mystery of this man's death is beyond my power of thinking."
Harry pondered a few moments in silence.
Several ideas passed through his mind and he finally said:
"Will you stick to the case a while longer if I do?"
"Certainly. Why did you ask that question?"
"Because we haven't satisfied ourselves about what Mason and the black valet were doing on the river with that boatman. If we find that the old gray-bearded fellow was the one who brought the body to the morgue, it would seem to indicate that Mason and the coon know something about how Mr. Dalton may have met his doom. Remember the object they had towing behind the boat may have been the old broker's corpse. We can find out by attending the coroner's inquest and gaining a glimpse of the man who picked up the body."
"Then we shall do so."
On the following day they went to the morgue again and there found the coroner and his jury.
The inquest was in progress.
As the boatman who found the body was the only witness present the Bradys saw him the moment they entered the building.
It proved that their suspicion was correct.
He was the same little old man whom they had seen rowing Mason and Johnson out on the river.
Satisfied of this and having learned his address, the detectives left the building with renewed hope in their hearts.
Outside, Harry said to his partner:
"It's the same fellow, sure enough."
"No doubt about it, Harry. But then, he may have found the body long before he met the negro and Mason. He may have learned whose corpse it was and telegraphed to Mason to come down to the river and identify it."
Harry shook his head.
"I don't agree with your view," said he.
"Why not? It's plausible."
"No, it ain't. It don't account for Johnson being there ahead of Mason."
"By Jove, I didn't think of that."
"I tell you, Old King Brady, the whole circumstance is so suspicious that I'm yet of the opinion that the whole thing is a deep-laid plot, and I'm convinced that we will get at the bottom of the mystery if we keep a watch on the foxy Mr. Mason."
"It won't do any harm to try a while longer."
Harry looked pleased to hear this, and they went downtown and put their plan in operation at once.
Within the next few days several important events occurred.
The body was taken from the morgue and was buried from Mr. Dalton's house, Lizzie and Mason being the chief mourners.
The Bradys had found out who Mr. Dalton's lawyer was.
Having called on him and explained their suspicions of Mason, they asked him if he had seen Mr. Dalton's will.
He told them that Mason had given it to him that morning, with a request that it be read at the house that afternoon.
It was then sealed up and according to Mason's story, had been in Mr. Dalton's safe a long time, in the Broad street office.
"We must hear the contents of that will," said Old King Brady. "As Mason is an unscrupulous man, we fear he may have tampered with it."
"You might disguise yourselves and go with me," suggested the lawyer. "I could tell Mason you were called on as witnesses."
"Very well. What time are you going there?"
"I'll leave here at four o'clock."
"We shall be on hand to go with you."
With this understanding they separated.
The Bradys went home and disguised themselves.
Both were expert at such work, and quickly made such a wonderful change in their outward appearance that they could safely defy recognition.
Harry was made up as a stylish young woman, and Old King Brady, in a black wig and beard, looked like a minister.
The lawyer did not know them when they returned to his office, and laughed heartily when he found out who they were.
"I never saw such skillful disguising done before," he exclaimed, admiringly, "and I can assure you that Mason will not know who you are."
They proceeded to Mr. Dalton's house and were introduced to Lizzie and the broker's nephew as two witnesses to the reading of the will.
Neither Mason nor the girl knew the detectives.
When all were seated and the lawyer had made a few remarks about his business, he opened the seals on the will and read it aloud.
By this paper the old broker left a fortune amounting to half a million, most of which was invested in stocks, bonds and mortgages.
But it was a peculiar will.
After speaking of the high regard in which he held Ronald Mason, the broker went on to say that he earnestly desired his daughter to marry the young man. If she did so she was to receive half the fortune. If she failed to do so, every cent was to go to Mason.
The brokerage business was left to him to do with it as he pleased.
When the lawyer ceased reading, Lizzie Dalton was as pale as death.
Rising to her feet she bitterly denounced the terms of the will, and said:
"I don't believe my father ever wrote such a will. He always was opposed to Mason marrying me. So was I. And what is more, if I forfeit every dollar coming to me, I'll never marry that man!"
She pointed at Mason.
His clean-shaven face was convulsed with anger.
"So!" he sneered. "That's your answer, is it?"
"Yes!" she cried, hotly. "I hate you, Ronald Mason, and you know it."
"Oh, you'll regret your hasty decision."
"Never! Never!"
"Then if you reject the terms of that will you are entitled to nothing, and therefore you can clear out of here. This house and everything is mine. I am the master here now. You get out!"
"Hold on, there! I've got something to say about this," said Old King Brady, as he flung off his disguise and seized the disputed will. _