ROMANCES OF UNEXPECTED FORTUNES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 222, 12 September 1908, Page 3

ROMANCES OF UNEXPECTED FORTUNES

THE MYSTERY OF THE BIRMINGHAM IRONMONGER. W hat had become of the wealth'of Tlioiuas Arnott, the Birmingham miserly [.ironmonger, who, his neighbours had aiways declared, was a mau " rolling in I homas Aniott died some twenty-four years ago. " old Arnott" had had a shop in a mean street in the Aston district. He had "coined money" in it, but folk whispered that lie had made more money still by money-lending. lie Vas a miser. Nobody ever knew of Arnott doing anyone a good turn, lie lived in the rooms above his shop, his only companions in the house being his daughter Jane and an old servant. Jane Arnott was ready to help anyone 111 distress. She listened to every story of want and helped as far as she could. Icoplc wondered how it was the old man had such a daughter. MYSTERY OF HIS WEALTH.

And now here was "old Arnott " dead, .and, as far as anyone could discover, only worth a paltry two or three thousand pounds! That money was out 011 mortgage. The interest -would be sufficient to keep the girl. But people wondeicd! What had "old Arnott" done with his money;, He must hate gambled it atvay in reckless speculation. " There is some mystery about the matter that 1 cannot fathom, .Miss Arnott," said the solicitor who produced Arnott's will. "Your father did not take me into his confidence, lie «.ive it to no one; but I believed I had good reason to assume he was very wealthy. He has left everything to vou. But wiiere is his fortune?" There was no trace of it to be found. The most rigorous search failed to discover any clue to the old mail's wealth if he really possessed any. It discovered some strange things, however. In Arnott's sate was a suit of clothes and a cloak, such as 110 one had ever seen him wear. And with these things was a tvig.' Did these clothes and Atig belong to the dead man? With these articles was also found a piece of paper 011 which were a number of mysterious memoranda: ''Paid Jaines Burnley a thousand pounds," '■ Paid Burnley fifteen hundred," and so on.

WHO WAS JAMES BURNLEY? "Do you happen to know anything of James Burnley?" asked the solicitor anxiously, of Jane Arnott. She knew nothing, she toldjiim, save that when old Thomas Arnott had had that apoplectic seizure which had killed linn he had made a desperate effort to say something. She could only catch the words " James Burnley " from those | twitching lips. Tile dying man had spoken them as if some great terror was on him—some fearful anxiety. What had been the mystery of the old mail's life? Who was that'mysterious person whose name was the last that' had fallen from his lips? Would James Burnley come forward? Time passed, and there came 110 sign of his existence. If James Burnley was some man who had, by some power possessed, extorted those sums of money from the dead nnn he lmd apparently leither recognised that his power did not extend to the daughter, or else had compassion for the girl whom all had expected to be rich and wdiom he had made poor. A PLUCKY "WOMAN. "I could live upon the interest of the money, 110 doubt," declared .lane Arnott to her friends. " I don't mean to do anything of the kind. I mean to earn my living as a nurse, i shall never marry, but I will be of some use in fie world."

111 pursuit of the. determination to "be of use to somebody," Jane Arnolt came to London and became a nurse in one of the great hospitals. "I may tell von, Miss Arnott, that you would have been a very rich lady had it not been for the man James Burnley," her solicitor had said to her.] "That man, in some way, secured the fortune that should have been yours." . A STRANGE COINCIDENCE. .Tane Arnott remembered those words some years later. Had she happened to find the mysterious man? James Burnley was the name of the patient to whom she hnd been dispatched—a man living in lodgings in Bermondsey, in the South of London. The sick man was about forty years of age, and for many days his life hung in the balance. lie owed his escape from death largely, the doctors declared, to the skill ami care of Jane Arnott. The landlady with whom he had livd for several years conlided to Miss Arnott that her lodger had apparently come into a considerable fortune a few years back. At times lie received large sums of money —hundreds of pounds. But he seemed to have no occupation in. life. He seemed to have 110 friends—no relations.

Could the mysterious .lames Burnley lie the man who had secured those l*a?ge sums from her father? HEK CI'UIOSITY .AUDI'S El). She shrank from obtaining knowledge of him by means of the necessity tint had called her to his side. At lirst she had never dreamt he might he the man. That ho horc the same name was nothing—there might be very many .lames Burnlevs in the world. By the time tht; landlady had told her so much is to excite her suspicions. Miss Arnolt found herself engaged in this ease so that she could not quit her post without committing a wrong to the sick man. She resolved to leave him as soon as rvcr she might do so without affecting his chances of recovery. She found that resolution a more difficult- one to carry out than she had dreamt it would be. Her patient, ?s soon as learnt her intention, protested against it with all bis power. He wis ill—still terribly weak, he pleaded. Would she leave liiniV There was no one who could look after him as she could. If she left him and he died, it would be a nice thing for her to think of for the rest of her life, he declared, querulously. THE SICK MAX CONCERNED. " What harm have 1 ever done you," he asked, *' that you should not think me worth some care? 1 never did a soul harm in my life. Jf I could do a 'person a good turn f would do it. I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself io want to go and leave me."; Fearing, if he discovered her rcall name, lie might be so excited that he. would be seriously all'ected, Miss ArnoU| had iHways passed in the house "Nurse .lane." Burnley now insisted on knowing her real name. She asked herself whether it would recall to him the wrong he had done her. ''My name is Ariiott—lane Arnott," she said, watching his face, "Amott.! What a queer name!'' he exclaimed. " 1 never heard it before in my life. I think it is rather pretty." INTERESTING DEVELU L'MENTS.

Some Jays later lie returned tut lu* subject of the name. it was not likf Burnley, he said. There were sum:' strange Burnleys about. lie had ni.it with one James Burnley wlm used to stay at an hotel in London in Ihe neighbourhood of Covenl '-anlcn. lie man was a mystery. Xo one knew where he eame front. He was an old man, and lie used to wear a wig and a shabby cloak, lie was not a Londoner, and he turned up now and again and disappeared again. He Inscribed to her the dress and rppearance of the strange person. r l lie dot lies, the cloak, and the wig he described were exactly tile same, as those that had been found in her father's safe! Was that mysterious .lames Burnley he had 'met the man who had secured tilt! wealth of old Thomas Arnolt': Miss Arnott communicated the discovery lo her solicitors. The proprietors oi the hotel eould ay very little about their visitor. "One of the waiters may know more alioul liiin than we do." I hey suggested. "There was one who used to wait oil the old gentleman.''

OX TUT' .1! 101 IT TltACk. One of them did. lie knew that the old visitor in the wig and cloak had once so attracted the notice of a dotcc tive that Ilicer had made some ini|uiry about him. lie suggested it was probable lliai the detective had learnt a good deal concerning him. The ollicer hail, lie had. Ire informed Miss Anion's solicitor, thought well to make a few inquiries into the business of the old man in the absurd disguise, lie appeared to be a niyslerv that should be investigated, and the ollicer had scerctlv shadowed him. From the hot. l ! the man liad gone to a bank, where he seemed well known and where he was treated with considerable deteremv. Banks are the most reticent institutions in the world. All that Ihe deteciivej could gather was that Mr. .lames Hum-' \,.y nvas an extremely wealthy gentle' man—eccentric, perhaps, but as keen as a razor. Who he was or where he cave' from thev declared they did not know. 111. was rich, and that was enough far I them. "It was no wonder he was rich,' saal gio solicitor, who questioned the officer.

"lie received at least .C20,00l) from my client, Thomas Arnott." lie was surprised at the amusement that showed itself on the detective's face. TIIE MYSTERY UNRAVELLED." "So Burnley robbed Aniott, did he?" lie exclaimed. "Why, .lames Burnley was '1 homas Arnott! The mail's conduct seemed so strange that I thought it whs only right to satisfy myself as; to who he really was, and i traced him back to Birmingham. In London—in that ilisguise, tile old man was Burnley! The whole affair seemed to be some freak 011 the old chap's part." What had induced Thomas Arnott to bank his fortune in such a strange manner was never disclosed. It was, 110 doubt, that peculiar secretive instinct that leads so many thousands of people to bank money under assumed namesnames that are unknown to those nearest anil dearest to then). When in such cases death comes suddenly to seal their lips for ever, before they can make known their secret to those tft whom that money should belong, the banks reap a rich reward. The unclaimed fortunes in time go to swell their wealth. No one claims tin' It is not for the banks to seek tn. owners. It is much easier, and, 110 doubt, much more agreeable to appropriate the fortune. THE END—AND HAPPINESS. A few weeks since a Bill was introduced in the House of Commons to require hanks to account to tlfe Public Trustee for unclaimed wealth ill their possession. Whether the persons "to whom the money rightfully belongs would be better off for its passing into the hands of the Public Trustee is a doubtful matter. The Court of Chancery does nothing to discover the persons entitled to money in its possession. Then, at the end of a period of years, the-iuoiiey is appropriated to public purposes.

Fortune, in taking Jane Arnott to the bedside of that sick man, was more kind to her than it is to thousands to whom b'ortune gives 110 clue to wealth that is theirs. She was even Kinder to her than that. For, at the same time, she bestowed on her a man .-lane Arnott found worthy of her love. She married James BurnIcy.