structure bore no deep traces of its previous occupancy to disturb him
with its memories, and for the same reason it gained in cleanliness and
freshness. The dry, desiccating summer wind that blew through it had
carried away both the odors and the sense of domesticity; even the adobe
hearth had no fireside tales to tell,--its very ashes had been scattered
by the winds; and the gravestone of its dead owner on the hill was no
more flavorless of his personality than was this plain house in which he
had lived and died. The excessive vegetation produced by the stirred-up
soil had covered and hidden the empty tin cans, broken boxes, and
fragments of clothing which usually heaped and littered the tent-pegs
of the pioneer. Nature's own profusion had thrust them into obscurity.
Jackson Wells smiled as he recalled his sanguine partner's idea of a
treasure-trove concealed and stuffed in the crevices of this tenement,
already so palpably picked clean by those wholesome scavengers of
California, the dry air and burning sun. Yet he was not displeased at
this obliteration of a previous tenancy; there was the better chance for
him to originate something. He whistled hopefully as he lounged, with
his hands in his pockets, towards the only fence and gate that gave upon
the road. Something stuck up on the gate-post attracted his attention.
It was a sheet of paper bearing the inscription in a large hand: "Notice
to trespassers. Look out for the Orphan Robber!" A plain signboard in
faded black letters on the gate, which had borne the legend: "Quincy
Wells, Dealer in Fruit and Vegetables," had been rudely altered in chalk
to read: "Jackson Wells, Double Dealer in Wills and Codicils," and the
intimation "Bouquets sold here" had been changed to "Bequests stole
here." For an instant the simple-minded Jackson failed to discover
any significance of this outrage, which seemed to him to be merely
the wanton mischief of a schoolboy. But a sudden recollection of
the lawyer's caution sent the blood to his cheeks and kindled
his indignation. He tore down the paper and rubbed out the chalk
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