CHAPTER XXX.
COLONEL PRESTON'S WILL Mrs.Preston was a cold woman, and was far from being a devoted wife.
She was too selfish for that supreme love which some women bestow upon their husbands.

Still, when Colonel Preston's lifeless form was brought into the house, she did experience a violent shock.

To have the companion of nearly twenty years so unexpectedly taken away might well touch the most callous, and so, for a few minutes, Mrs.Preston forgot herself and thought of her husband.
But this was not for long.

The thought of her own selfish interests came back, and in the midst of her apparent grief the question forced itself upon her consideration, "Did my husband make a will ?" Of course, she did not give utterance to this query.

She knew what was expected of her, and she was prudent enough to keep up appearances before the neighbors, who poured into the house to offer their sympathy.