The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-06-11
CHAPTER vi.
THE REPLY,


prediction that the mystery of the sea
road would remain mystery forever
was destined to be fulfilled. The days
came and went, and there were no de-
volopments to encourage tailoring and
disgusted police. 1t was the more strange
because full description Of poor An
motto had been published in all tho pa
pers, and there had boon a deal of in
tcrest in the matter Butpublic interest
to be kept alive must be fed, and ono
morning the city editors Of the several
dailics awolle to find q choice collection
Of now material for interesting reading
and straightw0y pigeonholed the old
till duller times. And so tho poor crea-
ture with the wounded intellect was for
gotten.
Avery rich man had suddenly and COM
plctoly disappeared under circumstances
so suspicious as to warrant the most
shocking speculations. And tho newspa-
pcrs did not spare their readers feel
ings The reason was simply that tho
newspapers had learned from long eXpe-
rienco that their readers did not desire
to be sparcd-in fact, would be rather
inclined to resent any such forothought
OIL the part Ct the newsgatherers. For
this and the other good reason that the
supplemental mystery Of the assault on
Ellen MaXcy never got into print at all
the matter dropped
And so Maxey's great double mystery
remained in spite Of his almost frantic
attempts to dispel it. No new clews ap-
pcared, and the old ones, like the foot
steps in the field at Somerset, led no.
where The police were discouraged, and
even DR.. Lamar gavo it as his opinion
that time spent in looking into this mat
ter was time wasted.
Miss Maxcy fulfilled the physicians
predictions by getting well in a few
days, but the poor frightened face that
looked forth from the pillows in the lit
tic alcoye room was as pale and pitiful as
ever. The experiments with, music, as a
power fer good, which promised so
much in the beginning, justified DR..
Lamars forebodings in the end. Never
after that first day wcr0 the emotions
aroused i'll the patient Of sufficient
strength to cause her to lose conscious
ness. Music always attracted her, inter-
ested her. even drove off for a time that
monotonous motion Of the hands which
seemed so dreadful to the strong, healthy
people about her, but it left no perma-
nent impression. Itwas not progressive.
Itwas not an educator. Alas for honest
Julian's simple and beautiful idea of
bringing her back to her lost worldl
The thought was too poetic for reality.
In vain did pretty Ellen Maxey sing her
sweetest songs. The wan face still turned
with the same mute terror upon her sur
roundings. The eyes never ceased the
restless search for the horror that did not
come, and the small, white hands con-
ttnued to clasp and unclasp themselves
as of old.
But one day there was a change in the
symptoms. A peculiar spasmodic action
Of the muscles of the face and limbs be-
gan to manifest itself. When DR.. Lamar
Saw this, his face lighted up with a sud
len hope.
For long time he had been very
grave. He had gone about in a continual
abstraction and had even been occasion
ally seen with his umbrella under his
arm in fine weather, an unmistakable
indication that he was becoming absent
minded. Never before had he met with
case which bafled him so porsistently
as this. From the hour when he lnelt
beside her in the snow by the sea road
and had given his opinion that it was
very serious matter" the patient had
never been wholly out of his mind.
1t made him angry to think that the
information contained in this first state
ment Of his impressions Of the case as
he bent over Ellen Maxoy's shoulder
and saw the white face looking up by
tho light of the lantern was about the
sum and substance Of all he had been
able to learn SINCE but such was the
TACT. What more could he say with any
certainty today than this? To be sure,
it had puzzled older men than he, but
that was small consolation to q mind
like Lamar's. The greater the obstacles
the more determined he became to over
come them.
Either / will bo the death of this
problem or it will be the death of me, "
he said to himself, and with this con-
viction no had set to work to save his
own life. He saw the patient so often
that he photographed every look and
motion she was accustomed to 1na&o
upon his mind. Not the movement of o
muscle, not the twitching of an oyelid
escaped him. He went about studying
every one Of these apparent trivialities
and trying to account for it.
Just as MaXey treasured up every
scrap Of evidence which promised to
throw any light on tho great double
mystery which entirely nonplused the
police, so the physician, constituting
himself medical detective, looked upon
the various symptoms Of the girls con-
dition as so many clews to the great
pathological mystery which was battling
him. During the weeks following the
discovery Of Annette he reread almost
his entire library on brain diseases. Aft
erward he borrowed from friend.
One night he came across q passage
which startled him. 1t was the particu-
lar statement Of the symptoms of a pa
tient in a German hospital who died
with a strange malady that completely
mystifed the physicians. The result of
the post mortem examination appended
showed that the secret cause of his death
was cerebral complication, tho chief
factor in which was a tumor in the
brain. A footnoto suggested that this
abnormal growth had probably been
caused by fall.
Perhaps it was because he watched
with n now idoo in bic ,nipd b,,t IL WOO