Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1886-08-26


small boy" She laughed little. but
it sounded very mirthless. "The last
cause of dissention is his death. / think
he is growing delicate and wants to
change, but papa doesn't agree. Does
he, my beautyp"
The boy laughed as she held him yet
more closely to her; and looking at his
rosy cheeks and bright eyes. it seemed
to me that there could not be health
Ter youngster.
Il am afraid / must take papa's
side," said. "You must not alarm
yourself unnecessarily. dear Mrs. Craw-
ford. for think" l stopped abrupt
", alarmed by the expression on her
face. | was new at my work, be il re-
membered, but think that older men
than l would be frightened. BERTHE
had rebelled against the OBTAINING arm,
and, sliding on to the floor, had run to
his father and climbed into his arms.
A fine game of .romps now ensued,
and the mother sat and watched them.
Sitting there, facing her. 1, too was
watching. In my student days had
kept tame lizard, and by whistling to
it had been able to direct its movements
at Will, anu uOW Il was VI
whilom pet by watching Beatrice Craw-
ford's eyes. Every motion of her hus-
bands, as he ran round the room toss
ing the laughing boy in his arms, APP
peared to hold fascination for her,
and her gaze never left him but once.
That once was when she walked swiftly
to a further table and possessed herself
of paper knife, which she handed to
me. commenting upon its curious
make. l handed it back again with
the remark that it would make nasty
weapon if needed. She took it without
glancing at me again, but her husband
had caught her words, and now came
up to us breathless and laughing, with
BERTHE clinging round his neck.
Don't hold that thing. my darling"
he said tenderly. al hate to see such
an ugly knife in your dear little
hands,"
"Give it to BERTHE, mamma" cried
the child, stretching out its dimpled
hands for the coveted treasure; and his
father, with an injunction TO be care
full. was taking it from her to give to
him when. with muffled cry, she
snatched the knife back and dashed it
through the window into the garden
beyond.
''You shan't have it!-you shan't
have ity' she cried. excitedly, while a
bright, red spot burned on either cheek.
you would" with marvellous self
control she stopped dead short, and af
ter an almost imperceptible pause she
added, in her usual quiet tones: pray
forgive me Arthur. am SO afraid of
BERTHE hurting himself. Go up to the
nursery, dear, mamma will come to
YOU"
Awestruck at her late passion, the
child went gently out of the room. and
his mother following him, | was left
alone with Crawford. 1t went to my
heart to see the panied, drawn look on
his face, but the scene had at all events
put one thing beyond a doubt-Mrs.
Crawford was not merely failing in
brain power-she was mad
A couple of days went by and be-
came fairly puzzled. All the ordinary
verbal tests when applied to my patient
proved complete failures. Her memory
was excellent, and. indeed, in this re-
spect, she was far better than her hus-
band, who was constantly forgetting
things. AS to her judgment it struck
me as above the average. She man
aged her own housekeeping, and capt.
ally she did it, too, and, in fact-not to
exhaust the readers patience by enter
| ing into details-the only visible out
come of her mental alteration was this
extreme terror in which she lived. and
| for which l could find no reason.
What baffled me most was the fact that
while it was Crawford himself who
primarily excited this terror she was
uudenably fond of him. In fact, at
the end of week. was precisely in
the same condition as when first en-
tered the house.
An exceedingly hot night, and after
we had all gone to bed was tempted
to leave my room, and seated myself
by the open window to indulge in an
extra cigar. liad been there for per
haps an hour when heard the Craw
fords talking in their room, which wa.
on level W tn my own. The tone:
were excited and eager, and fearing
that Mrs. Crawford might be flashing
herself into fury, and that her hus
band might be ignorantly increasing it,
Il SlOIt uONn W tntll uoOI anu sloOe
listening.
Arthur. dear. give it to me. Yo,
don't want it tonight. Why not wal
until the morning"
''Give it to youp No; 1! l know ,
trick worth two of that. All, you thinl
l don't know that you and that con
founded mealy-mouthed doctor are IL
league against me.
CrawfOrd's voice, shrill and mock
ing, but undoubtedly his. Goot
heavens! was the man drunk? Their
was a moments pause, and then he be
gan again, this tine more gently.
"Come, come, Beatrice. Drop thi
stupid looking. only want to hav,
little cut at BERTHE, just a little cut
and look! the knife is so bright an,
sharp it cannot hurt him much"
In flash of revelation that nearl
ror of the situation, | understood TO
the first time how matters actual
stood. Crawford himself was the mad
man, and the devoted wife had know
the truth all this time, and for som
inscrutable reason had shielded him
perhaps at the cost of her very life.
While these thoughts were rushin
through my brain / had noiselessl
opened the outer door. and now stoo
In the dressing-room peering into tn
bedroom beyond. The door betwee
} the two was standing open. but a heav
curtain hung in the aperture. and, b
making a little slit in 1t by means c
} penknife, was enabled to comman
a view of the interior. At the farthe
end of the apartment lay BERTHE aslee
in his cot. Standing before him, ella
, in long white wrapper and with he