The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1917-07-20

| In the outer Office they heard Shurt-
lift brokenly calling the doctor on the
telephone and asking him to notify the
police.
"Did he" began one, hesitatingly.
"He was too big man to do himself
any hurt, I know" answered Meade
proudly, as he OWNED the question.
1.-THE autopsy will tell. But am sure
that the failure of the bridge has
broken his heart"
"And we can't fix the responsibility
now" said Rodney, who for his friends
sake was glad of this consequence of
the old mans death.
eyes, you can," said the young man.
He leaned forward and laid his right
hand on his dead fathers shoulder.
Helen Illingworth had possessed her
self Of his left hand. She lifted it and
held 1t to her heart. The engineer
seemed unconscious Of the action, and
still it was the greatest thing he had
ever experienced. Meade spoke slowly
and with the most weighty Gelibera-
ton in an obvious endeavor to give his
statement such clear deflniteness that
no one could mistake it.
"Here in the presence of my dead
father" he began, II solemnly declare
that alone am responsible for the de-
sign of the member that failed. My
father was getting along in years. He
left great part of the work to me. He
pointed out what he thought was a
structural weakness in the trusses, but
I overbore his objections. I alone am
to blame. The Martlet Bridge company
employed us both. They said they
wanted the benefit Of my fathers long
experience and my later training and
research"
"Do you realize, Meade" said Rod
ney, as the pencils of the reporters
flew across their pads, shat in assum-
ing this responsibility which, your IA
Their being dead, cannot be-"
81 know it means the end of my ca
reer," said Meade, forcing himself to
speak. "My fathers reputation Is
dearer to me than anything on earth"
''Even than II" whispered the
woman.
ooh, my Godw burst out the man,
and then he checked himself and con-
tinued with the same monotonous de-
liberation as before, and with even
more emphasis, II can allow no other
interest in life, however great, to pre-
vent me from doing my full duty to my
father"
He had been fully resolved to pro-
tect his old fathers fame had the ia
Their survived the shock. The appeal
of the dead man was even more power
full than If he had lived. Meade could
not glance down at that crushed,
broken, impotent figure and fail to re-
spond. 1t was not so much love-never
had he loved Helen Ilingworth so
much as then-as it was honor. The
obligation must be met though his
heart broke like his fathers; even If it
killed him, too.
And the woman! How if 1t killed
her? He could not think Of that. He
could think of nothing but of that in
ert body and its demand.
"Have you no witnesses, no evidence
to substantiate your extraordinary
statement?" asked Rodney.
II can substantiate it." said Shurt-
lift, coming into the room, having fin
ished his telephoning. 1.-THE doctor and
the police will be here Immediately,
but before they come" and he drew
himself up and faced the reporters
boldly. Gentlemen, can testify that
everything that Mr.. Bertram Meade
has said is true. happened to be here
when my dead friend and employer got
the telegram announcing the failure Of
the bridge and, although he knew 1t
was his sons fault, he bravely offered
to assume the responsibility and he
told me to go to the newspapers and
tell them that it was his fault and that
his son had protested in vain against
his design"
"Why didn't you do it," asked one
Of the reporters.
81 couldn't, sir" faltered the old
man. ut wasn't true. The son there
was to blame"
He sank down in his seat and COW
cred his face with his hands and broke
into dry, horrible sobs. 1t was not easy
for him either, this shifting Of RESPONSE
bility.
"You see" said young Meade, II
guess that settles the matter. Now you
have nothing more to do here"
Nothing" said Rodney at last, "not
in this office at least. We must wait
for the doctor, but we can do that out
side"
One by one the men filed out, leav-
ing the dead engineer with his son, the
secretary, and the woman in the room.
Bert" said the woman, laying her
hand on his shoulder, "why or how /
feel it cannot tell, but know in my
heart that you are doing this for your
fathers sake, that what you said was
not true. Things you have said to
me"
did I ever say anything to you,"
began Meade in fierce alarm, while
Shurtliff started to speak but checked
himself, ito lead you to think that I
suspected any weakness in the bridge?'
The woman was watching him keen
ly and listening to him with every
sense on the alert. Nothing was es-
Gaping her and she detected in his
voice a note of sharp alarm and anx-
iety as if he might have said some
thing which could be used to discredit
his assertion now. -
Perhaps not in words but In little
things, suggestions" she answered
quietly. II can't put my hand on any
Of them, I can hardly recall anything,