Once  it  clutched  feebly  at  the  bed  curtain,  then  fell  stiffly
with  the  effort.  Hargrave  felt  that  the  squire  was  en
deavoring  to  make  known  a  secret.  Still  the  existence  of
a  recent  will  did  not  present  itself.  That  his  fortune  lay
concealed  in  the  family  Bible  seemed  a  trick  of  Fate.
Had  he  known  of  the  document,  fastened  between  the
leather  side  and  the  calico  cover  of  the  holy  book,  his
consequent  action  would  have  been  very  different.
When  careful  Judith  sewed  the  brown  cotton  over  the
backs  of  her  father's  Bible,  she  had  no  intention  of  pro-


146  THE  BROAD  AISLE.
Tiding  an  asylum  for  a  vagrant  will  and  testament.  The
woman's  practical  soul  would  have  revolted  at  the  idea  of
furnishing  a  dramatic  nucleus  for  tragic  developments.
