text: A few weeks later, Grit was outside working in the lumber yard when Asa brought out a telegram to him. He opened the envelope and read that Landgrave Theodosius Gridleigh had died and that the funeral would be in the First Presbyterian Church in Chicago on Friday. One of Gridleigh's servants, Loyal Trimball, had sent it.
  
  "Friday," Grit said, "three days from now."
  
  The next day, Grit got a telegram from the law firm of Bigelow and Storrs indicating that the reading of Gridleigh's will would take place on Friday afternoon after the funeral, and since Grit was a named beneficiary, he was encouraged to attend.
  
  Grit talked it over with Colleen and later that day he got on a train for Chicago. He arrived Thursday evening and stayed once more at the Palmer House. The morning of the funeral, he walked over to the Presbyterian Church and found there were quite a number of people in attendance.
  
  As Grit walked in, a man dressed in a black suit asked, "Are you family, sir?"
  
  "Yes, I guess I am," he said.
  
  "What is your relation to the deceased?" the man asked.
  
  "I'm his son."
  
  "Come with me," the man said, and escorted Grit to the front row of pews, where he sat alone. Eventually others came and sat in the same pew but apart from him. He presumed they were family as well, but he had no idea who they were, and none of them made any effort to introduce themselves.
  
  The service itself began with a song by the choir, all draped in high-collared maroon robes. Accompanied by the organ, they sang Abide With Me, 'Tis Eventide. The Presbyterian minister offered an opening prayer, then spoke about the resurrection and eternal life before praising Gridleigh as a good Christian who supported so many community causes, including an addition to the Presbyterian church itself. There were two other speakers with equal praise for Gridleigh's generosity of spirit in supporting so many of the city's charities. The choir sang Beautiful Savior and Amazing Grace before the pastor offered a closing prayer that, in Grit's estimation, was far too long and wordy.
  
  As Grit stood, a man walked over and introduced himself, "I'm Rolf Gridleigh. Are you related to my cousin?"
  
  "Yes," Grit said.
  
  "May I ask what relation?"
  
  "I'm his son," Grit said.
  
  "But my cousin was a bachelor," Gridleigh said.
  
  Grit laughed. "You've lived a sheltered life if you think bachelors can't father children."
  
  "Well, who's your mother?"
  
  "A fine lady who shall remain unnamed."
  
  Grit left shortly without standing around to grip hands and chat with others who had attended the funeral. He was glad to be out in the sunshine, even though it was cold outside. He found a restaurant close to the address of the law firm, stepped in and ordered a hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy. After eating, he wandered over to the law firm and was shown into a room where several others were sitting, including Rolf Gridleigh and his family.
  
  Grit sat down on the back row, and at exactly 2 o'clock, in came two suited men who sat down at the table in front.
  
  "Good afternoon," the older man said, "and thank you all for being here. I am Joshua Bigelow, personal attorney for Mister Gridleigh, and sitting beside me is Isadore Storrs, my partner in the firm.
  
  "We're here today to read the will of Landgrave Theodosius Gridleigh. The will is long and has multiple parts. I'm going to summarize rather than read the entire contents, but we have printed copies for any of the family who may want one.
  
  "First, Mister Gridleigh has appointed this legal firm, Bigelow and Storrs, as executors and administrators, and we're here this afternoon in that capacity.
  
  "Mister Gridleigh was a bachelor his entire life, but he did have a son whom he acknowledges in the will. His son is Landgrave Theodosius Gridleigh Milburn, who goes by the name Grit Milburn and is a resident of Lincoln, Nebraska. He also has a granddaughter through Mister Milburn named Astrid Milburn. These are the only direct descendants that are acknowledged in this will.
  
  "Before getting to the bequests, I should say that the will includes a provision that affects anyone who may contest the will. Any such person will forfeit anything he could have or would have received as part of the will.
  
  "Now to the bequests, 'To my faithful servants, John Saunders, Loyal Trimball, Reginald Simon and Polly Benjamin, I leave to each of you the sum of $35,000 and my good wishes and thanks for your loyal service to me over many years.
  
  "To the Presbyterian Church I leave $20,000 to be used any way the church sees fit.
  
  "To St. Anthony's parish, I leave $20,000 to be used to refurbish the orphanage.
  
  "'To my cousin, Rolf, I leave the sum of $50,000, knowing that his family has ample funds from their own investments.
  
  "'To my granddaughter, Astrid, I leave my library of books in the house at 186 South Prairie Avenue and the sum of $100,000 to be held in trust for her until she has attained the age of 21 years. I appoint my son, Grit Milburn, to be the sole trustee of the trust for my granddaughter. Also I leave another $300,000 as part of the same trust to be used as gifts to any other issue that may come to Grit Milburn and Colleen Milburn, his wife. The gifts will accrue to the children at age 21 years.
  
  ""I had intended to give all of the remainder of my estate to my son, but I've discerned from conversations with him that he feels such a bequest would be a burden and would change his life too much. As a consequence, to my son, Grit Milburn, I leave the sum of a million dollars and my mansion at 186 South Prairie Avenue in Chicago. This I devise with all of its contents and appurtenances other than the books in the library that I have given to my granddaughter. I devise this property because my son has expressed such a love for the house.'"
  
  Grit could not help himself. He started laughing, which interrupted the proceedings.
  
  "Mister Milburn, is there something wrong?" Bigelow asked.
  
  "No, sorry to interrupt. It's just that I told my father how much I disliked his mansion, so he gave it to me. Makes me laugh!"
  
  "You're one of the few who know about his sense of humor," Bigelow said. "Now to the rest of the will:
  
  "'The remainder of the estate will be used to establish the Gridleigh Foundation, which will have a board of directors that will use funds generated each year to make donations to worthy causes throughout the country. I've left separate instructions for the administration of the foundation.'"
  
  When the reading of the will was done, Grit asked the lawyers where he could obtain the key to the mansion at 186 South Prairie Avenue. When Joshua Bigelow gave him the key, Grit asked, "Where could I find an honest appraiser for the books and the mansion and its other contents?"
  
  "T. Parkinson and Sons on Michigan Avenue will give you an appraisal of the books and the contents," Bigelow said. "For the mansion itself, our firm does real estate appraisals and sales, and we could handle that for you... for a price, of course."
  
  Grit smiled, "Of course. I'll want to sell it with all the furnishings intact. I may wanna take out some of my father's personal items. Plan to give me an appraisal and find me a buyer as soon as you possibly can. I'm going over now and talk to Parkinson and Sons."
  
  Later Grit spoke with Theodore Parkinson and said, "I want Gridleigh's whole library... every book... conserved in a secure location for the next 20 years. At that time, my daughter will take charge of the library and may do what she wishes with the books.
  
  "Please appraise the rest of the contents in the mansion and provide me with a list and the value of each item. Someone told me he has quite a nice collection of watches, so you may have to bring in a specialist to appraise those."
  
  "It may take a month," Parkinson said, "but our work is meticulous, so our estimates of value will be very close to the real value."
  
  "That's fine. Take your time and do it right."