A glance at the following diagram will serve to clear up any confusion which may exist in the mind of the reader:
1888 MARY A. PETERSEN 1896 CHARLES A. CLARK by her (X) deed conveys _same property_ conveys to to I.F.X. O'ROURKE JOHN J. KEILLY. | | 1896 JOHN J. KEILLY | conveys to | I.F.X. O'ROURKE |_________________________|
O'ROURKE thus holds land through two sources.
Browne was the witness to both these parallel transactions! Of course it was simple enough to see what had occurred. In 1896 a mysterious man, named Clark, without vestige of right or title, so far as the records showed, had conveyed Ebbe Petersen's property to a man named Keilly, equally unsubstantial, who had passed it over to one O'Rourke. Then Browne had suddenly recorded Mrs. Petersen's deed giving O'Rourke the very same property. Thus this O'Rourke, whoever he may have been, held all the Petersen property by two chains of title, one through Clark and Keilly, and the other through Mrs. Petersen. Then he had gone ahead and deeded it all away to various persons, through one of whom William R. Hubert had secured his title. But every deed on record which purported to pass any fraction of the Petersen property was witnessed by H. Huffman Browne! And Browne was the attesting witness to the deed under which Hubert purported to hold. Thus the chain of title, at the end of which Levitan found himself, ran back to Mary Petersen, with H. Huffman Browne peering behind the arras of every signature.
MARY PETERSEN CLARK BROWNE, to to attesting witness. O'ROURKE KEILLY | | | KEILLY BROWNE, | to attesting witness. | O'ROURKE | | |____________________|
O'ROURKE BROWNE, to attesting witness. WILLIAM P. COLLITON
WILLIAM P. COLLITON to BROWNE, JOHN GARRETSON attesting witness.
JOHN GARRETSON to BROWNE, HERMAN BOLTE attesting witness.
HERMAN BOLTE to BROWNE, BENJ. FREEMAN attesting witness.
BENJ. FREEMAN to BROWNE, WILLIAM R. HUBERT attesting witness.
The Assistant District Attorney rubbed his forehead and wondered who in thunder all these people were. Who, for example, to begin at the beginning, was Charles A. Clark, and why should he be deeding away Ebbe Petersen's property? And who were Keilly and O'Rourke, and all the rest--Colliton, Garretson, Bolte and Freeman? And who, for that matter, was Hubert?