The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-03-18

| G-n 1HJin.'
Through the doorway to the library
| they could see the doctor force Luke
back upon the couch Luke fought him
: furiously; then, suddenly as he had
! stirred to strength and fury, LUX. COL
lapsed again. His voice went on 4
moment more, and rapidly growing
weaker:
"You tell Ben Corvet I want my
money, or I'll tell. He knows what
I'll tell. You don't know, you
Injin devil. Ben Corvet knows,
and l know. Tell him I'll tell
I'll tell I'll tell" The
threatening voice stopped suddenly.
Constance, very pale, again faced
Alan. "Of course, understand" she
said. "Uncle Benny has been paying
blackmail to this man. For years, per-
haps. - She repeated the word
after an instant, In a frightened voice,
| ''Blackmailw
; won't you please 60, Miss Sher-
rill?' Alan urged her. st was good
Of you to come; but you mustn't stay
now. He's-he's dying, Of course"
She seated herself upon a chair.
"Tm going to stay with YOU" she said
| simply. 1t was not, she knew, to share
| the waiting for the man In the next
! room to die; in that, of itself, there
could be nothing for him to feel. 1t
| was to be with him while realization
which had come to her was settling
| ,lpOn him, Generalization of what
| this ,.ieant to him. He was realizing
that she thought; he had realized 1t;
it made him. ut moments. forget her
while, listening for sounds from the
other room, he paced back and forth
beside the table or stood staring
away, clinsing to the pOrtieres. He
left her presently. and went across the
hall to the doctor.
us he dead?' Constance heard him
| ask.
"Not YETI the doctor answered; "but
it won't be long, now"
'"There's nothing you can do to make
him talk-bring him to himself long
enough so that he will tell what he
keeps threatening to tell?"
The doctor shrugged. "HOw many
times, do you suppose. he's been drunk
and still not told? Concealment is his
established habit now. It's an inhibi-
ton: even in wandering, he stops short
Of actually telling anything"
Alan came back to Constance. Out
side, the gray Of dusk was spreading.
| and within the house 1t had grown
dark. 1t was very quiet in the library /;
she could not even hear Luke's breath
ing now. Then the doctor came out to
them.
ITS over" he said to Alan. "There's
Il law covering these cases; You may
not be familiar with it. I'll make out
the death ertiticate-pneumoni and
Il weak heart with alcoholism. But the
police have to be notified at once; you
have no choice as to that. I'll look
after those things for you, If you
want"
THANK you; if you will" Alan went
with the doctor to the door and saw
him drive ava Y. Returning, he drew
the library portieres; then, coming
hack to Constance, lie picked up her
mutf and collar from the chair where
she had thrown them, and held them
out to her. ..1
you'll go now, Miss Sherrill| he
said. Indeed. you mustn't stay here
your cars still waiting, and-you
mustn't, stay here in this house!"
won't you come over home with
me-" she said, land wait for father
there till we. can think this thing out
together?"
Her sweetness almost broke him
down. This together! Think
this out Oh, it's plain enough. isn't
It? For years-for as long as Wassa-
guam has been here, my father has
been seeing that man and paying
blackmail to him twice a year, at
least He lived in that mans power.
He kept money in the house for him
always! 1t wasn't anything imaginary
that hung over my father-or anything
created in his own mind. 1t was some
thing real-real; 1t was disgracc-tlis-
grace and worSe-something he de-
served; and that he fought with black
mail money. like a coward! Dlsh0nor
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS"
Continued in Next lssue)