I replied that Mr. Nickolson knew me very well. Mr. Miles said, "Mr.
Nickolson is my correspondent here and has charge of more than a million
dollars of our estate."
We walked over to Mr. Nickolson's bank and Mr. Miles entered the private
office, leaving me standing in the corridor outside. As he entered the
office he left the door open. Mr. Nickolson arose and greeted him, and
at the same time spoke to me. After the greeting, Mr. Miles said to Mr.
Nickolson, "I see that you know Mr. Furlong."
"Yes," replied Mr. Nickolson, "I have known Tom for years, and he is
welcome to anything I have."
Mr. Miles said, "Mr. Furlong told me that you knew him and insisted on
me coming down here and asking you about his standing in St. Louis."
After a little further conversation Mr. Miles shook hands with Mr.
Nickolson and we returned to my room at the Planters, where Judges
Martin and Gillespie and the stenographer were awaiting us. I then
related in detail the story that I had recently heard from Harbaugh.
After I had completed the narrative, all of which was taken in shorthand
by the stenographer, the younger Mr. Martin, Harbaugh was sent for and
he verified the statements I had made to the gentlemen. The conference
then adjourned, the luncheon hour having arrived. All parties again
assembled in my room at the Planters at two o'clock, when Judge Martin
said, "We have been considering this statement of yours, Mr. Furlong. We
have known for some time that these lawyers you have named have been
trying to make trouble, but did not know until you told us today just
what they intended to do, and now I want to say that Mr. Miles and
myself appreciate what you have done in this matter so far, and we are
anxious for your opinion as to what you think is the best way to
proceed."
To which I replied, "I believe the best way to proceed would be for
Harbaugh to go to the lawyer in Kansas City and tell him that he would
accept his proposition, and that he would secure a man who could be
relied on, and who would assume that he had written the will for the
elder Mr. Miles. I would then select a man that I could trust and turn
him over to Harbaugh. Harbaugh would take him to Kansas City and put him
under the guidance of the lawyer. After these conspirators had
thoroughly posted and instructed this man, whom they will expect to
deliberately commit perjury, they will probably have his deposition
taken in St. Louis. He will take the stand and be able to answer all
questions put to him until asked if he wrote the will. When he is asked
this question, being under oath, of course, he will tell the truth. In
this way we will be able to prove the enormity of the crime and the cool
audacity of the parties connected with it."
I turned to Mr. Miles and said, "That is my opinion, but if you do not
approve of it and prefer to employ some one else to handle this case for
you, you, of course, are at liberty to do so. I felt that it was my duty
to advise you of this conspiracy and the manner in which I had received
my information."
Judge Martin said, "Mr. Furlong, we want you to handle this case for
us," and Mr. Miles nodded his head and said, "Yes, I want you to handle
this case for me, and to handle it in your own way, and I will pay you
your regular charge, allow you the expenses incurred, and pay you extra
for your service." I told Mr. Miles that I did not expect anything of
that sort, as I did not believe in rewards and never worked for them. He
insisted, however, on paying me extra for my services, which he did, and
I divided it equally with Harbaugh.
I instructed Harbaugh to go to Kansas City and get in touch with the
crooked lawyer, which he did. I selected a man whom I knew well and
believed to be honest. I instructed him as to what I wanted him to do,
and in due time he was introduced to the Kansas City lawyer, by
Harbaugh. The lawyer began instructing him and gave him a minute
description of the deceased Stephen B. Miles, whom, of course, this man
had never seen. He posted him as to a room in the old St. James Hotel
that had been occupied by Stephen B. Miles in one of his trips to St.
Louis. This was the place where the fake will was supposed to have been
written. The lawyer was pleased with the man I had sent and feasted and
dined him on several occasions when he was in Kansas City rehearsing the
part he was to play in the conspiracy.
In the meantime Harbaugh had grown to be the apple of the crooked
lawyer's eye, and from the good treatment he received from this creature
Harbaugh had begun to admire him for his liberality.
At last a day was set for the taking of the deposition of the man who
was supposed to have written the will. Due notice was served on the
respective parties interested, and at the appointed time our man
appeared at the office of the St. Louis attorney, and the taking of his
deposition began. After being duly sworn, the St. Louis representative
of the conspirators began to examine the witness in the usual way,
asking a few preliminary questions, and at last reached the question,
"Did you know Stephen B. Miles, deceased, and did you not write this
will for him?" indicating a paper he had in his hand.
The witness said, "I have known a number of men by the name of Miles.
Allow me to describe one of them and if his description suits I will be
able to answer your question."
I had previously requested Mr. Miles' attorneys to let the St. Louis
lawyer do all the questioning and examining, and not to object to any
question that he might put to the witness, unless it was entirely out of
reason. Therefore, they merely sat still, carefully noting everything
and objecting to nothing.
Of course, the conspirators were anxious to get a strong deposition from
the witness, and, therefore, he was permitted to describe the man Miles,
for whom he was supposed to have written the will. The St. Louis
attorney kept nodding approval to his fine description of the dead man.
When he had fully described Mr. Stephen B. Miles to the satisfaction of
the conspirators, he took the purported will and examined it carefully,
saying, "The handwriting on that document looks like my handwriting,
but (in a loud, clear voice) I did not write this or any other will for
Mr. Stephen B. Miles, or any other person. I have never met the man
Stephen B. Miles, nor the man that I have just described. I was
instructed to give the description that I have given here by these
lawyers (pointing to the St. Louis and Kansas City lawyers, who were
both present) and I was expected by them to testify that I had written
this will, and I was promised five thousand dollars if I would."
The reader can easily imagine the consternation that reigned among the
conspirators at this testimony from the one they trusted would be their
star witness. Our man left the stand and the further taking of testimony
was discontinued, it is needless to add.
Mr. Miles and his attorneys believed that these conspirators had ceased
their efforts for a time, but later on they produced another man whom
they claimed had written the second will for Stephen B. Miles. He was a
young man, also a lawyer, and had at one time lived in St. Louis for a
short time, married there, and had gone to Old Mexico. He was discovered
in Mexico by the Kansas City outfit and induced to come back to Chicago,
Illinois, where his deposition was taken. He claimed to have written the
will for an old man in St. Louis, but he was either afraid to describe
him or could not do so, therefore his testimony was worthless.
The conspirators continued to try to break the original will until it
was finally pronounced legal and valid by the Supreme Court of Nebraska,
and Joseph H. Miles' rights were thoroughly and legally established.
During this litigation, however, two of the parties in the conspiracy
died, and the others were not prosecuted for complicity, although their
actions had put Joseph H. Miles to considerable trouble and expense.
They had made several indirect propositions to Mr. Miles looking to a
compromise, but he promptly repelled all of them.
Harbaugh's connection with my service has long since been severed, and
he is now in the employ of Mr. Joseph H. Miles as manager of his large
stock range in Nebraska, not far from Falls City, where the writer is
informed he is doing well.