Page:Harold Titus--Timber.djvu/238

230 means at that moment he entered the Commercial House and ascended the stairs to the room of Jim Harris, local representative of a great corporation." He paused, for his throat had tightened. He looked about almost fiercely but the amazement in those faces gave him strength.

"I turn, the pages. The date is August 9, 1917. The first name is again Oliver Burns; the hour is 9.16 a.m. and he went up to the same place, up the same stairs to the same room, still occupied by Jim Harris, local representative of Chief Pontiac Power.

"The next notation is 9.47 a.m. and the name opposite is Wes Hubbard; the next is twenty minutes to eleven and the name is Art Billings. The next was Oren Culman at eleven four, and so on.

"Try another page: March 5, 1918. Art Billings was early, at 8.22. Until after eleven Mr. Harris had no callers, but he remained in his room waiting, looking through the window now and then. At three minutes past eleven Wes Hubbard went up the stairs, at 11.22 Oliver Burns, and at one minute to noon, Oren Culman.

"And so on, with little change, until April 6, 1920 when a new name appears: that of Sim Burns."

He stopped, jaw trembling.

"You are all there, gentlemen, on every page—"

Those who watched thought that the quivering of his jaw and the tremor in his voice was the unsteadiness of righteous wrath; but it was not that, not by far. It was misgiving. Like a stud-poker player he let them look at the high cards which lay face up—but the one in the hole—the one on which he was risking his stack, was an unknown quantity to him—and for all he knew it might be a marked card and recognizable to these men.