The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1928-11-23
CROSS
swell, sit down then"

TO explain"
Now when man suddenly finds
himself looking into the barrel of a
revolver held by the hand of his
friend, Ii naturally gives q slightly diff
ferent turn to his thoughts. To Wa
terman il was as II the end Of the
world had come.
"Sit down." said Stanley coldly.
"WhatI''
81 say. sit DOWN." And the voice
was the voice of fate. "This Is the
night of your accOunung!"
Slowly, feebly, like man stricken
abruptly with mortal disease, Water
man retreated till he felt the chair
behind him. Into it's depths ne
slumped, and sat there, with his chin
upon his breast, his hands hanging
Imply till they nearly touched the
floor.
Relentlessly Stanley stood and
watched him Relentlessly, too, the
machine went on:
Exactly"
"Well, of all the Perhaps yOu
WIN tell me why on earth | should
do that?"
"Ill tell you with pleasure. Be-
cause you're business woman. Look
here now. If you tell Doris Colby the
truth, you get nothing but revenge on
me-"
81 expect to get something for not
telling her the truth"
swell, you won't get It."
"No?"
"No. Because haven't got It. No,
listen. I'm practically down and out"
you're member of this firm"
"Nominally, but my interest Is so
small II barely gives me decent liv-
ing. Stanley owns the works Hes
the lad with the money-always has
been. What's worse, l owe everybody
In the world. I'm short lot of stocks
in bull market. I'll be wiped out
tomorrow. If the rise goes on. In short.
I'm all In. Only one thing can save
me-marriage to q rich woman. Well,
Doris Colby Is just that-a very rich
woman. Now you stick by me-and
TIL stick"
Silence fell. 1t was broken only
by the heavy breathing of the strick-
en- Waterman. Stanley sat down up
on the corner of the desk and looked
at him.
''Do you recognize the voices yeti"
he asked
Mono" stammered the other.
FIR I al
know it-a id frameup"
"How about the woman who went
to Doris and slandered me? What did
she tell her? Haven't we just heard
it?"
81 tell you it's q lie," shouted Wa
terman. you've framed mel" He
made as II to take a step toward
Stanley.
"Better sit down again." suggested
the latter quietly. with slightly sug-
gestive gesture with the revolver.
Rebelliously, Waterman obeyed.
sand" continued Stanley, there's
just one other little matter"
He took from the breast pocket Of
his dinner jacket little yellow cham
OILS bag "Do you know what this bag
contains?" he asked.
Waterman was silent.
"No? Very well then, you shall
see." And the next moment, In the
brilliance that fell from the crystal
chandelier, there flashed the myriad
lights Of the Colby necklace.
SWELL" asked the inquisitor. "have
you had enough?"
stammered Waterman.
Stanley knew that the crucial mo
ment had arrived.
81 mean, ROllin," he said In that
same cool, level voice, 81 mean just
this. You've betrayed your friend;
you've stolen your wife; you've ruined
her happiness, and finally, you're
thief, and these are the stolen goods |"
Again Waterman staggered to his
feet, and this time Stanley did not
stop him.
81 tell you, it's lie!" he cried.
you've framed me You're jealous
of me You've cooked up this whole
plot to steal away my wifeI"
He shuffied nearer to Stanley with
each word. Stanley let him come, but
answered, "You know that that's a
lie!"
For a second Waterman hesitated-
What would he do? Everything hung
on that. Then, to the others intense
relief, Waterman. hurled himself on
Stanley. The latter struggled, not too
successfully, and in second Water
man had wrested the revolver from his
hand.
"Now," he cried, backing off, now
we'll seel Take the cylinder off that
machine and give II to me-"
"Oh, no." said Stanley.
"At once, or I'll take It'll"
"Never!" was the stern answer.
'Then stand asidel Stand aside or
by Cd, I'll kill you"
Now for the final insult.
"Oh. no. you won't You haven't
the pluck, even though you know that
I'm going to publish this story so far
and wide that you can never look
white man in the face again-the story
of a gentleman who betrayed his
friend. You're skunk and q sneak
and traitor, but you haven't the
CUTS to kill"
Waterman raised the revolver and
cried, "Stand aside, say" But
Stanley made no move. "Then by
Cd, take It'll"
He pulled the trigger. The hammer
snapped harmlessly. With cry of
rage, Waterman broke the pistol, saw
that its chambers were empty, cast It
aside and with a roar hurled himself
on Stanley.