The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1936-12-03
SATURDAY-Continued

Ace looked strangely beautiful
and strangely dignifed in death
as though his body had been care
fully laid out, as indeed ultimate
ly we learned that it had. His
tunic lay straight and close about
his figure. His helmet lay at his
side His tiny black velvet mask
lay beside it. Suddenly I seemed
to see for the first time the slit in
that tunic, a slit surrounded by
rust-colored stain over the heart.
"Stabbed!" Patrick dropped
tersely. He too knelt.
EYES," Joe assented. There it
isl"
1t was the weapon that had killed
Ace. It was his own sword; the
short sword of the Roman officer
which had stuck upright on the
left of his belt. The blade was I'M
stained, smooth and shining.
A second wave of faintness came
over me. AS went into it, I heard
Patrick say, mot suicide! And
somebody that he trusted killed him.
Whoever it was, he wiped the
blade clean" AS l came out of
it, I saw Patrick's stern eyes ex-
amining the ground about Aces
body.
"Finger-prints!" Joe Geary sug-
gested sternly.
Patrick drew something shining
from his pocket and put it to his
lips. On the blast of his whistle,
the four policemen appeared at the
entrance of the Spinney. cts a
murder all right" he informed
them briefly. Mike, you call the
coroner! Then get Doctor Blaikie's
house and tell them there what
has happened. Then get the sta
ton and tell them to put a man at
the crossroads. Nobody but the
people who live here or deliver
here are to come over to the Head
until say so. The rest of you
spread about and guard this wood.
Nobody is to set foot here unless /
0. K. it."
lay awake almost all night long,
thinking of Ace Blake con-
sidering poignantly certain half
forgotten scenes which seemed, of
their own volition, to drift from
out of the past into my mind
recalling with careful elaboration
succession of pictures of our
long, vivid friendship all these
the very warp and wool of my
childhood and girlhood.
The period which I might de-
scribe as late babyhood provides
me with no picture of Ace, although
it is possible that / did see him then
at Sunday school, or on the beach.
Already the boys had shortened his
old New England name of Asc to
Ace-I little knew how appropriate
that nickname was to become. I
was exactly eight when I first be-
came conscious of his existence.
remember perfectly how he looked
the first time I laid observant eyes
on him. The Blaikies had spent
that summer in Europe. Ace was
their only child and naturally their
pride and joy. Well he might be
that! There was no period in his
life when, whatever the occasion,
he wasn't the most handsome male
creature present, the most striking
and debonair.
It was typical of Ace that not
only did he appear the first day of
school wearing a Scottish costume
which his mother had bought in Ed
inburgh-it was typical of him that
he carried it off with distinction
and complete Inconsistencies.
/ suppose that every other girl
in the class fell dead in love with
Ace that day. / did not however.
Already-yes, even then, Mark
Avery and were meeting at the
crossroads to go to school togeth-
er. Ace broke hearts left and right
in his cocksure pilgrimage through
life. I am glad he did not break
mine. He never caused me even a
suspicion of heartache.
/ saw more and more of Ace
however. We became great friends.
He always entertained and inter-
ested me. He was fascinating.
Ace, Patrick O'Brien and / were
the leading spirits in our class.