The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-06-19
CHAPTER XIII
The Frame-Up


lowed instantly by a scream from
Claire. Rhoda and Martin, after ex-
changing one Mortified look, followed
Conley through the door, which he'd
left open behind him.
Claire lay on the floor moaning, ap-
parently unconscious, her face so COW
cred with blood that it wasn't pos
sible to see the exact nature of the
wound. The revolver, a blue filament
of smoke still rising from its barrel,
lay on the carpet three Of four PAGES
away. Forster had fallen back limp
" in his chair. Evidently he thought
he'd killed her, for he was bleating
frantically, st didn't do it! She did it
herself! She pulled the trigger" His
voice rose to a yelp as he cried to
Conley, "Take her away! Don't leave
her lying there! Take her where
can't see her."
Conley picked her up in a matter
of-fact sort Of way which led Martin
to think that he'd come to the same
conclusion as his own, that she was
not dangerously injured. Martin
opened the door for him, but as soon
as he'd gone out with his burden.
closed it after him and turned back to
Forster. The old man looked from
one to the other of them in bewilder-
ment, and at last weakly demanded of
Martin, "Who are you? What are you
doing here?''
"rm the reporter from the News,
Martin said, "who wanted an inter
view from you about the disappear
ance of Rhoda Mcfarland. l came up
to your apartment and found her here
We happened to be where we could
see everything that's gone on in this
room since that woman Conley just
carried out came into it."
More blackmail !" Forster snarled.
"It's a conspiracy, that's what it Is.
You are all in it."
He looked as he said that like moth
ing in the world but a rat in q corner,
darling helpless venomous glances this
way and that; toward the picture over
the fireplace, behind which he knew
his bodyguard was no longer on watch !;
toward the closed door through which
no cry of his could be heard; even
toward the revolver lying on the car
pet, hopelessly out of his reach.
1t was Rhoda who answered him.
She was so pale Martin had feared
that she might be going to faint. But
the glittering timber of her voice as
oh annrinnnd hin, hot ha
white only with anger. "There is only
one conspiracy / know about" she
said. That's the conspiracy you went
into with Claire Cleveland-only she
was called Clara Bowman then-and
the man who was your secretary-I
think his name was Stafford"
Martin held his breath as he looked
from one of their faces to the other.
You don't know what you're talking
about" Forster wheezed. But the con-
sternation in his face proclaimed that
she did know.
you had your secretary hire her"
Rhoda went on. That's why you
didn't know who she was when she
came back here and got job in your
Office. You didn't know that Stat
ford had told her who you were. And
when he died you thought you were
safe. You thought you didn't have
to pay the money you'd promised her
for running my father"
She turne1 away from him as If the
sight of his goat-like face had become
uncomfortable to her, and went on
speaking to Martin. That's what he
did. They hired this woman-Staf-
ford found her-to go west on the
same train my father was going on.
She was to cry and pretend she'd lost
her ticket and her money, and get him
to take pity on her and pay her fare.
They must have known how kind he
was and how innocent he was or they
wouldn't have thought the trick would
work. 1t did work, partly. He paid
for the ticket and her berth and loaned
her some money besides to buy her
meals with on the train. The rest of
the plan didn't work. He didn't even
look at her. She said so herself to-
him, just now. He never even guessed
what she was trying to make him do.
But she went ahead just the same
l suppose they'd promised her more
money-and made her complaint be-
fore the district attorney. And she tes-
titled against him at the trial. only the
jury didn't believe her and set father
free. But enough other people be-
lieved her so that he had to resign
from the university and come out here,
like man in hiding, to go to work,
without knowing it, for the very man
who had ruined him." She whipped
around upon Forster again, her eyes
blazing with furious anger. 'I wish
she had shot you instead!" she told