The rich old man hated his many relatives and loved his money. The relatives really hated him but were so anxious to get his money that they pretended to be very fond of him, much to his disgust. The old man tried to make them understand that he did not care for their company, but they were bound to return. Each relative secretly thought that he was the favored one and the others the objects of the old man's dislike. A nephew had himself smuggled into the house in a grandfather's clock; a cousin pretended to be injured in an automobile accident, and two other cousins earned admission by disguising themselves as the old man's horse. All were ignominiously ejected, but they were far from discouraged, and the old man finally determined to take more vigorous measures. One day the relatives were all summoned to the house and informed of the rich man's death. The absence of the funeral was explained by the statement that the late lamented had been playing with a keg of dynamite, and all that had been found of him after the explosion was his will. In this document it was set forth that the estate was to be equally divided among those male relatives who joined the Optimistic Oriental Occults, a secret society of which, it was said, the deceased had been very fond. All the relatives consented to join and the initiation started promptly. The ceremonies included a number of vigorous stunts. At the conclusion of the ordeal the relatives, each carefully packed in a potato barrel, heard the old man's voice and found to their horror that he was alive. He explained that he had been playing a trick upon them, and had witnessed with great pleasure their initiation into the order of Optimistic Oriental Occults. He concluded his remarks by saying that if they ever returned he would be compelled to confer the second degree, a really severe ordeal, upon them. After which the barrels were rolled down a steep hill, followed by a number of excited, barking dogs. The relatives never came back. The first degree had struck terror to their souls, and the thought of advancing in the order of Optimistic Oriental Occults was extremely distasteful to them.