The Holladay Case (Detective Story Magazine)/Chapter 6
CHAPTER VI.
Miss Holladay Becomes Capricious.
The body of Hiram Holladay was placed beside that of his wife in his granite mausoleum at Woodlawn on the Sunday following his death; two days later, his will, which had been drawn up by Mr. Graham and deposited in the office safe, was read and duly admitted to probate. As was expected, he had left all his property, without condition or reserve, to his daughter Frances.
We found that his fortune had been overestimated, but there still remained something over four millions for the girl—a pretty dowry. She told us at once that she wished to leave her affairs in our hands, and in financial matters would be guided entirely by our advice, Most of this business was conducted by our junior, and it was evident that Miss Holladay's feelings were unchanged.
A week or ten days passed.
Then came new developments with a startling rapidity. It was toward quitting time one afternoon that a clerk brought word into the inner office that there was a woman without who wished to see Mr. Royce at once. She had given no name, but our junior, who happened to be at leisure for the moment, directed that she be shown in. I recognized her in an instant, and so did he—it was Miss Holladay's maid. She told us a strange story of how her mistress had discharged her that afternoon, after bringing home a strange new maid, a Frenchwoman, she thought.
“I fear I can't promise you anything,” Mr. Royce told the discharged maid. Miss Holladay must arrange her household to suit herself; yet, if you don't get back with your mistress, I may, perhaps, be able to find you a position somewhere else. Suppose you come back in three or four days, and I'll see what I can do.”
“Did you get Miss Holladay's signature to that conveyance?” Mr. Graham asked his partner next morning.
“No, sir,” answered Mr. Royce, with just a trace of embarrassment. “I called at the house last night, but she sent down word that she was too ill to see me, or to transact any business.”
But when he called again at the house that evening, he received a similar message, supplemented with the news imparted by the butler, a servant of many years' standing in the family, that Miss Holladay had suddenly decided to leave the city and open her country place on Long Island. It was only the end of March, and a full two months ahead of the season; but she was feeling very ill, was not able to leave her room, and believed the fresh air and quiet of the country would do more than anything else to restore her shattered nerves. So the whole household, with the exception of her maid, a cook, and underbutler, were to leave the city next day in order to get the country house ready at once.
Two days later a note, which her maid had written for her, came to Mr. Graham, asking him to call upon her in the course of the next twenty-four hours, as she wished to talk over some matters of business with him. It struck me as singular that she should ask for Mr. Graham, but our senior started off at once without comment. An hour later the door opened, and he entered the office.
“Well, that beats me!” he exclaimed, as he dropped into his chair.
Our junior wheeled around toward him without speaking, but his anxiety was plain enough.
“To think that a girl as level-headed as Frances Holladay has always been, should suddenly develop such whimsicalities. Yet, I couldn't but admire her grasp of things. Here have I been thinking she didn't know anything about her business and didn't care, but she seems to have kept her eyes open.”
“Well?” asked Mr. Royce, as the other paused.
“Well, she started out by reminding me that her property had been left to her absolutely, to do as she pleased with; a point which I, of course, conceded. She then went on to say that she knew of a number of bequests her father had intended to make before his death, and which he would have made if he had not been cut off so suddenly; that the bequests were of such a nature that he did not wish his name to appear in them, and that she was going to undertake to carry them out anonymously, using her own private fortune, until she had full legal access to the Holladay estate.”
“Well?” asked our junior again.
“Well,” said Mr. Graham slowly, “she then asked me to dispose at once of such of her securities as I thought best, in order that I might place in her hands by to-morrow night one hundred thousand dollars in cash—a cool hundred thousand!” Mr. Graham then exhibited a portfolio of stocks and bonds which Frances Holladay had given him.