When John Storey died suddenly in India, his daughter, Helen, an only child, became heiress to his estate, worth some £20,000. Although Helen was nearly of age, she knew practically nothing of the world and less about her father's affairs. News of Storey's demise reached his agent in England, Mr. Henry Murdoch, at a time when that gentleman was in deep financial distress. Holding full power of attorney over Storey's investments, he was tempted by a suggestion from his worthless and rascally nephew to take advantage of Helen's ignorance, and for the time being to make use of the Storey money to pull himself out of the mire. To avoid danger of detection the nephew further suggested destroying a letter from Storey, which would have served not only as a will, but would be the only document which could incriminate Murdoch in the event of his carrying out his intentions. Watching his chance, the nephew secretly pocketed the letter and burned a blank sheet of paper in its stead.
