The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-06-24

tempest of driving emotion, he re-
turned to town and to Lucy.
She, he found, was at her fathers:
had been there since she had left New
chester. Tempest-driven, he went to
find her there. He was shown into
the library, the room where they had
met on her party night. When she
came into the room and looked up at
him, speaking quiet greeting, half
diffident, as if she were not sure what
had brought him, he found his heart
knocking hard. and his eyes were
alight again at sight of her.
He returned her greeting without
making any move nearer TO her. His
eyes, devouring her face, saw that she
looked white and tagged.
"Macklir has confessed" he said
abruptly.
I'm glad. Jim. Awfully glad" she
answered warmly. This is real
proof?"
Even your cousin, Oliver Ames, has
been good enough to express himself
convinced of my innocence he said,
his tone grim and sneering.
II always knew the truth must come
out. It's wonderful, jim" She
looked up at him a little wistfully, as
if she were mutely asking him to take
the blessings of justice, even though
it had come late, and to let the old
injustice be a thing of the past.
"It was Billy Brady who knocked
the clerk out-under orders from
Macklin. Billy's chief madness is
passion for silver money. Every time
he blackmailed money out of Macklin,
he got it changed into silver and then
buried it in the wood. He never
seems to have gone back for ii.
They've found more than thirty little
lots, and they're still looking He's
under restraint, of course, and will
be for the rest of his life" He told
her this story quite expressionlessly.
81 knew he wasn't safe" she said.
I'm glad they've got him; he really
was a menace, wasn't he?" If she
hoped to draw him into a discussion
of the affair, and thus to more
friendly footing, ST was disappointed.
For he only nodded and then asked
abruptly:
us your father in?"
eyes," she said. He's.
1--WE come to tell him just exactly
who 1 am. Just exactly who it is his
daughter has married. :" he
broke in.
you can't" she answered quietly
but with firmness. My father is i'll. I
found him down with flu when l got
back. He has been rather bad. :.
You can't tell him now"
"Why should 1 consider him?' he re-
torted. did he think of me when he
left me to be Jailed for something 1
had not done?"
you cannot tell him now" was all
she said. He is too ILL.,
81 intend to tell him now, or at any
time think fit" he answered, brutally.
She did not speak, but she moved
over to the door and stood before it,
her arms outstretched.
very well, move me, then; there is
only myself between you and him."
He stood looking at her, his eyes
af1ame.
Stand aside" he ordered in a low
voice.
Il shall not move unless you forcibly
move me-" she replied.
stand aside" he said again. and
this time he took step toward her.
mo-
His hands clenched to fists, his face
was working oddly. do you want
me to to lift you out of
my way?" he asked in shaken voice.
"You will have to, if you mean to
get to my father" she told him
steadily.
Tempest-drIven, he started toward
her again. And again stopped. She
stood unmoving. His hands clenched
words that, somehow, he could not
speak.
Something like a cry broke from
him.
"All right, then, stand aside and just
let me CO." he said at last. She
obeyed and he flung past her out into
the hall, and out into the street. She
heard the slam of the front door and
the sound of his running steps. !.
She remained at her fathers house.
giving to the world the excuse of his
need of her, in his Illness but Jim
knew that it was to avoid himself. for
she resolutely refused to see him.
Only he, she had said, could make her
leave him; well. he had done it. She
had left him, and there seemed to
be no chance of her coming back to
him. Then, she robbed him of the tri-
umph of telling Sir John who he really
was, by telling him herself, as soon as
he was well enough TO hear such
news. Still, he declared fercely to
himself, that was a small part of it /;
the smashing of Gresham's was his
chief aim, and nothing on earth should
make him forego that.
During the next few weeks he found
himself exonerated formally in the
eyes of all the world, of any guilt in
connection with the crime for which
he had suffered. Macklin was being
dealt with by the law, and things were
not looking too rosy for him. Sir John,
terribly upset, and not fully under
standing quite all there was in the
situation between Lucy and her hus-
band, made very sincere offers of re-
Cancellation, but Jim's madness for
revenge swept him on, and he would
only fight Gresham's tooth and nail.
Things began to look bad for the old