Middletown transcript., 1891-04-30
A MYSTERIOUS CASE.

Tue OtneT uoCLOTs. AHey look, as wa
natural, the worst possible view of tn,
matter, and accepted the only solution
which the facts seemed to warrant
But they are men and | am a woman
besides, I knew the nurse well, anC
could not believe her capable of will.
ful deceit, much less Of the heinou!
crime which deceit in this case involv
ed. So TO me the affair was a mys-
terry.
The facts were these.
My patient, a young typewriter
seemingly without friends or enemies,
lay in the small room of a boarding.
house afflicted with a painful but not
dangerous malady. Though she was
comparatively helpless her vital
organs we're strong, and we never had
moments uneasiness concerning her
till one morning we found her in all
almost dying condition from having
taken, we quickly discovered, a dose
of poison instead of the soothing mix
ture which had been left for her with
the burse. Poison and TO one, not
even herself or the nurse. could ex.
plain how the same got into the room,
much less into her medicine. And
when | came home to study the situa-
tion I found myself as much at loss
as they indeed, more SO, for / knew |
had made no mistake in preparing the
mixture, and even if / had this es-
pecial poison could not have found its
way into it, owing to the fact that
there neither was nor ever had been
drop of it in my possession.
The mixture, then, was pure whes
it left my hand and, according to the
nurse, whom, as have said, | i'm
plicitly believe, it went into the glass
pure. And yet when two hours later,
without her having left the room or
coming into it, she found
occasion to administer the draught,
poison was in the cup, and the patient
was only saved from death by the
most immediate aud energetic meas
lres. not only on her part, but on that
,f DR.. Holmes, whom in her haste and
she had called in from
he adjacent house.
The patient, young, innocent, un-
fortunate, but of a strangely cour-
igeous disposition. betrayed nothing
out the utmost surprise at the peril
The had so narrowly escaped. When
DR.. Holmes intimated that perhaps
he had been tired of suffering, and
lad herself found means of putting
he deadly drug into her medicine, |
he opened her great gray eyes with
uch look of childish surprise and
eproach that he blushed and muir
nured some sort of an apology.
"Poison myself!" she cried :" when
'ou promise me that shall get we'll ?
lou do not know what a horror !
ave Of dying in debt, or you would
ever say that"
This was sometime after the criti.
al moment had passed, and there
7ere in the room Mrs. Dayton, the
DR.. Holmes. the nurse and
lyself. At the utterance of these
lords we all felt ashamed and cast
,oks of increased interest at the poor
irl.
She was very lovely. Though with
ut means, and to all appearance with.
ut friends, she possessed in great degree
charm Of winsomeness, and not even
er many sufferings, nor the indigna-
on under which she was then labor
lg, could quite rob her couutenance
that tender and confding express
on which SO often redeems the plain
1T face and makes beauty doubly at
active.
"Dr. Holmes does not know you,"
hastened to say. 81 do, and utterly
spel for you any such insinuation.
. return, will you tell me if there is
ny one in the world whom you can
Ill your enemy? Though the chief
ystery is how SO deadly and unusual s
poison could have gotten into a s
can glass without the knowledge of
ourself or the nurse, still it might not t
= amies to know if there is any one, s
ere or elsewhere, who for any reason g
light desire your death" q
The surprise in the chiidlike eyes t
creased rather than diminished. t
" l don't know what to saw" she s
urmured. II am so Insignificant r
I'd feeble person that it seems abb {
rd for me to talk of having an enc f
y. Besides, l have none. On the t
ntrary every one seems to love me i
ore than l deserve. Haven't you e
ticed it, Mrs. Dayton ?" . C
The landlady smiled and stroked
e sick girls hand. |,
" Indeed" she replied, have motto. .
that people love you but I have u
yer thought that it was more than Ia
u deserved. You are dear little Sc
ng, Addie." 81