Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1916-12-28

! listening Myrtle experienced sense Of
physical relief, the exact reason for
which she would have been at a loss
to explain. How strangely the man
had intoned his good-bye-almost as
If he never expected to be able to say
it again to the wife he loved. 1t was
as if
Eyes number please Oh"
1t was the voice of the same man
speaking GROSSLY over the wire.
Get me Grant 6212-quick he
growled. I'm in a hurry"
She, plugged the proper hole con-
Meeting him and listened for a mo-
ment.
Hello! Grant 6212? the Morgue?
| Well, this is James P. Thornton talk
ing. Yes, JAMES Thornton of J.
z. Thornton, Inc. I'm about to COM
nit suicide in my Office at 1878 Stock
| Exchange building. If you'll send your
men over here within Is 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,
thats-and then, ironically - all :.
Happy New Yearw
| 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 EXPLANATIONS 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 fed.
| 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 himi 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 man
had his car waiting there on the main
floor, while he leaned against the side
| of the cage gossiping with one of the
scrub women. Myrtle bounded in, star
| Ting both nearly out of their wits
Quick !" she painted, Selling his arm
with tense fingers, "The fourteenth
floor D.. 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 a 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 a sickening breathless rise
H.. All the fourteenth floor at last
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 hest
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
h,1II
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:
"STOPw
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
| his mouth two or three times, mutter-
ing in half-witted way: "Who :.
who what :"
Then he toppled suddenly and fell
| flat on his face to the floor.
| "Deadw groaned Myrtle, horror
stricken, dropping to her knees beside
| the inaminate form.
| Nav" grunted the elevator man.
who just then Joined her. "He's tainted
that's all, kid. Better go git me
wet rag to sop his face with. That'll
bring him round in jiffy."
But Myrtle was already seated at
the adjacent telephone, calling the
number she so well remembered:
| Eyes, yes, operator =. That's it,
| Riverview ALL. Hello! he'll
10! Is this Mrs. Thornton talking?
No, you don't know me, but that
doesn't matter. You hurry and wake
up 'Snookums;' put on all his things
and hurry down here to Mr. Thorn
toms office. He needs you =. Asked