The Colorado statesman., 1916-12-30


cuse me IL I spoke sharply, little girl.
Pm tired out-that's all =. Yes, yes
Good-by, dearest one'
The receiver clicked sharply ana the
listening Myrtle experienced sense of
physical relief, the exact reason Tor
which she would have been at loss
to explain. How strangely the man
had intoned his good-bye-almost as
If he never expected to be able to say
II again to the wife he loved. 1t was
as if
"Yes number please OH
1T was the voice of the same man
speaking Grossly over the wire.
"Get me Grant 6212-quick!" Re
growled I'm in a hurry"
She plugged the proper hole con-
Meeting him and listened for a mo-
ment. r.
"Hello! Grant 62127 the Morgue7
Well, this is James p. Thornton talk
ing. Yes, JAMES Thornton of J.
P. Thornton, Inc. I'm about to COM
init suicide in my office at 147S Stock
Exchange building. If you'll send your
men over here within 15 minutes
they'll find my body here Doors
unlocked, ready for you. Statement
for the newspapers will be found on
desk. I've just completed it. Was
smashed in collapse OF market on the
board floor this afternoon No,
that's-and then, ironically - all 49,,
Happy New Yeari'
His receiver clicked down on the
hook, severing the connection in the
midst of Mortified abjurations from the
other end of the wire. simultaneously
Myrtle, the telephone girl, jerked the
metal loop from her head and sprang
down the aisle, disregarding the sur
prised exclamations of her fellows and
the imperative call of the supervisor.
She grabbed her hat and shabby little
jacket from their peg on the locker
room wall as she fled.
A suicide? . he was about to die
by his own hand . And with that
sweet-voiced wife waiting for him
there at home with the dear little kid
die tucked up in bed and crying for his
daddy's goodnight kiss 1t was wrong
all wrong! :. To stop him All,
if only she could get there in time
There was a chance-a slim chance,
for it happened that the Stock Ex-
change was directly next door to the
big gray telephone building.
Fortunately the night elevator Iudn
had his car waiting there on the maiu
floor, while he leaned against the side
of the cage gossiping with one of the
scrub women. Myrtle bounded in, sta--
tling both nearly out of their wits.
"Quick !" she painted, seizing his arm
with tense fingers, 1.-The fourteenth
floor Not an instant to spare! !"
'But it's against rules to let you go
up there at this unholy time of night
unless you've got permit" expostu-
lated the bewildered elevator man.
you can't"
Myrtle drove the motive lever home
herself and the iron cage shot swiftly
upwards before the man could stop
her. 1t was sickening breathless rise
All the fourteenth floor at lasti
Precious moments wasted fumbling
with the mechanism of the elevator
door Then through it and out
the staccato clatter of little high heels
racing down the long dim, empty cor.
ridor to where blotch of light showed
through the transom of Suite 1873.
For brief second Myrtle's heart
suspended its pulSation and she hesi-
tated with her trembling hand out
stretched to turn the knob. What if
she should find-should find him al
ready the victim of his own mad act
lying there on the richly-carpeted floor
OF the sumptuously furnished offices
with pool of blood slowly coagulating
around the bullet hole in his temple.
If
But Myrtle, the telephone girl wait
ed to conjecture no longer. She threw
her weight against the unlocked door.
1t gave suddenly and precipitated her
inwards coincidently with her frenzied
cry of:
"STOPr
The man sitting at the long mahog-
any desk with the ugly revolver al
ready in his hand half started to his
feet, his face ashen; stared at this
most unexpected intruder bulge-eyed.
He seemed unable to collect his
thoughts; only passed his hand over
ms mouth two or three times, mutter-
ing in half-witted way: "Who
who :. what :"
linen he toppled suddenly and fell
fiat on his face to the floor.
"Dead?' groaned Myrtle, horror
stricken, dropping to her knees beside
the inaminate form.
Nav" grunted the elevator man,
VINO just then Joined her. "He's tainted
-thats all, kid. Better go git me a
wet rag to sop his face with. That'll
bring him round in jiffy."
But Myrtle was already seated at