The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1894-01-06


seen either OF them. That poor fellow
had worked himself up to believe that
was actually the cause Of his wife's
death, instead of disease which no man
could cure; and that persuasion Of his,
crazy though It was, had an effect on
my own imagination. And now he IL
dead on her account It's enough to
make a man curse his profession. God
knows, did my best for her.
"'You're run down and morbid, doc
tor said I, Go home and get good
sleep, and think no more about it. He'd
have killed himself just the same,
whether you had ever seen the case or
not. He was OF the suicidal tempera-
ment-I always thought so.'
Ibid you, indeed" said he, and 1t
seemed to relieve him. For all that,
he said, science is an awful rcsponsi-
bility. A great deal Of medicine is no
more than guess work. We can never
be quite sure that we haven't made a
fatal mistake. If thought you would
take my advice. would tel you to give
1t up, and break stones on the road for
q living, II you could do nothing else
HE was all broken up. Like 9TH
er eminent men, he was very SEN
sitive fellow, and had great deal Of
imagination. The same high faculties
that had made him what he was were
his weakness also. However, time
helped him, as it does all of us, and in
the course of week or SO he was ap-
parently the same as ever
"But meanwhile had been doing a
good deal Of thinking, and some invest
igating, without saying anything to
anybody. BY degrees was led to cer-
tain conclusions; and at last thought
could not do better than go and con-
suit Bacarac about them, even at the
risk of renewing his morbid state Of
mind. So turned up at his Office one
evening, and he received me as II he
was glad to see me. 4 wish you would
come oftener,' he said.
Before long the talk got round to
the Talbots. Il have made some queer
discoveries about that, DOCTOR said /.
Discoveries? How's that?' SAID he,
looking round at me.
"'Why, doubt if Talbot killed him
self, after ALL
"He Strengthened up in his chair as
If an electric spark had been run
| through him. He looked at me as If
he'd look through me. That's seri-
GUS thing to say, he said at last.
"I know it, and that's why I've come
to ask your advice before going fur
ther. For if anything is to be done
about this thing, doctor, we ought to
do 1t together
"He had seemed agitated at first, but
now he became quiet as a stone
Well, what is it you think you have
got hold of?' said he, leaning back in
his chair and crossing his feet on the
hearth rug. It's i'll work digging up
the past
Its i'll work digging up corpses of
any kind, doctor. OF course, it's done
in our profession every day, but
it's risky work. Whether the motive is
good or bad from our point of view, the
outsiders don't like it.
"'But poor Talbot's motive was GER
tainly excusable, though
II interrupted him: Another idea
of mine is,' said, that it was not Tai
bot who disinterred her.
Really! You have complete new
theory, then?' said he, with a smile.
~ don't say it's complete, doctor;
but if you and put our heads together
we may make it SO. I'll just explain
where am, and then we'll see. For
one thing, she was buried in white
dress, with a lace edging round the
throat; you remember that?'
81 can't say do; but what of it.?
"'What we found in Talbot's sitting
room was her naked body, with only
some black cambric round it. He had
had the white dress put on her for the
funeral; why should he have taken it
off after digging her up? And, after
taking it off, why should he wrap her
in coarse, black cambric? What was
his object in bringing her home at all9
One can understand his killing himself
on her grave, or even digging her up
and dying on her corpse; but he must
have got a vehicle to take her home
with, with the risk of exposing himself,
and with no compensating advantage.
Then, having got her home, why didn't
he put her on the bed, or on sofa, at
least, instead OF on the floor? She
was tossed down any way, as if she
were bundle of carpet
"'All these things, my dear SIR said
Racarac, ARE strange enough from
one point of view, but easily ex.
plicable on another. There is no doubt
in my mind that Talbot was actually
inaane; and what an insane man may
or may not do is past conjecturing.'
THAT explanation occurred to me-
doctor; but it won't cover some OF the
other facts. For instance, though the
! street door was locked, the hey was
not on the inside; and it has never
been found at all. Why should
he have taken it out after lock.
ing the door, and why should h,
have been at the pains to hide it?
man SO insane as he would never have
thought of that. Then, again, hi
must have brought the body
either in wagon or in wheel.
oarrow; II the first, what be-
came of the team after he got the body
home, for he had none of his own; ant
4 a wheelbarrow, what became o.
that? Besides, he could never have
wheeled that body, in its white dress
through the streets of the town. in {
wheeibarrow. Supposing him to hav,
first wrapped it in the black cambric
what did he do with the'dress? He die
not burn it. nor did he bury it in thu
grave. Then, as to the grave: Why
did he fill it in so carefully. instead O
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