Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-08-18

pretext OF attempting to identify her.
And who stare and gawk about with
open mouths until they have fairly to
be pushed out Of the room, - added Miss
Maxey.
In short, " continued the artist, I'VE
are IN danger of being turned into a
museum for the exclusive patronage of
all the idlers and deadbeats in the CITY.
This clearly will not do, and we must
get our medical adviser to declare a
public inspection irritating and danger
GUS to the patient. :"
Il believe it did annoy her." said
Dr.. Lamar. AT any rate, it did her no
good"
And this is the strangest part of the
mystery to my mind" continued Max
ey, that with ali these precautions,
with the newspapers printing, people
talking and pictures and descriptions 80
available, nobody appears to claim her
IN all this time. 1t is as if she dropped
down upon the cliff road from another
planet. Wherever she has been people
must have seen her; her friends must
miss her. Then why are they silent?''
DR.. Lamar was still watching the fee
blocks. Something suggested by Maxey's
last words made him frown He did not
turn his head to remark:
"You cXaggerate, Julian. Because
this case seems all important to you and
your sister and-to me perhaps, and be-
cause few policemen and reporters
call, and the rabble who read the news
papers flock to your door when the op-
portunity is given them, you Immediate
~ think that the whole world has be-
come excited over this curious affair.
All, let me tell you, is large word, and
everybody something which you don t
imagine How many thousand people
In this very city today never read o
newspaper and are too much occupied
in their own struggle for existence to
mind much about other people's! In
spite Of all that has been said and writ
ten, I'll warrant you not more than half
| of the total population of this metropo-
lis has ever heard Of the mystery of the
beach road
Ellen sighed
''The doctor is right, Julian"
perhaps. an not disputing him.
1t is but week yet, and there are Pc
| culiar circumstances, I can understand
perfectly possible, under which a person
might suffer such an accident as this
poor creature has and not be missed SO
soon. Suppose, for instance, were to
announce to you that was going away
for a week or two and were to fall
down at the end of the street and break
my neck"-
Il should know all about it in two
hours" interrupted his sister. mo,
Julian, noe you have spoken about the
friends, but you have not thought Of the
enemies. The blind in this case are will
fully blind, Julian depend upon it,
willfully blind
''Pshaw," said Maxey, 'that is 60
ing too far altogether! Better invent
some other theory. Suicide is more
probable.
'Ridiculous" was his sisters COM
ment
VERY well, suppose this: Suppose
that she has always been an idiot just
as we see her now; that her friends had
taken care Of her, but that she had be-
come burden upon them; that in q
moment Of neglect she escaped and wan
dered over the edge of the bluff; that
they knew it when it was too late, but
| forbore to interfere after the mischief
was done, well knowing that it would
make no difference to her and not wish
ing to be bothered longer with her sup
port What different aspect would the
case present than it does now?''
"a cruel, heartless theory, Julian,
and you ought to be keener than that
too am ashamed of you'll What of the
| pocket turned inside out, the trampled
snow and the man who ran away?''
| Appearances are often deceptive.
Thieves are not the only people who turn
pockets inside out Men run or walk for
other causes than guilty conscience
Besides, the fact that she was an idiot,
not being known to the thief, would
not prevent his waylaying her in a
lonely place"
You don't believe what you say, Ju-
liam. This girls outer garments fitted
her. They were made for her Idiots are
not provided with street costumes.
| This was clincher. Maxey, worsted,
as usual, in an encounter with his sister,
made an irrelevant reply and turned his
attention, with momentary irritation, to
DIR. Lamar.
''Do you think, too, that this girl had
no friends?"
| The same suggestion which had before
caused the philosophic physician to
wrinkle his brows again disturbed him
in similar manner. He suddenly bent
a meaning look upon the artist as he
made the deliberate reply:
''For good reasons. have more than
once suspected it,
Maxey started. He became at once
imbued with the suspicion which trou.
bled Lamar. He grew excited at once.
''That is something I had not thought
Of 1t would explain everything"
Possibly" said the doctor, resuming
his view Of the river.
"And it would prove that Twas some