Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-05-31

open mouths until they have fairly to
be pushed out of the room," added Miss
Maxey.
In short, J." continued the artist, Eve
are in danger of being turned into
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
public inspection irritating and danger
GUS to the patient "
IT believe it did annoy her." said
DIR. Lamar. Eat any rate, it did her no
good. "
And this is the strangest part Of the
mystery to my mind continued Max
ey, that with all these precautions,
with the newspapers printing, people
talking and pictures and descriptions so
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?"
DIR. Lamar was still watching the ice
blocks. Something suggested by Maxey's
turn his head to remark:
"You exaggerate, Julian. Because
this case seems all important to you and
your sister and-to me perhaps. and be-
cause a few policemen and reporters
call, and the rabble who read the news
papers flock to your door when the OPP
portunity is given them you Immediate
ly 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 a
newspaper and are too much occupied
in their own struggle for existence to
mind much about other peoples! 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.
1.-The doctor is right, Julian
Perhaps I am not disputing him.
1t is but week yet, and there are Pc
culiar circumstances, | can understand
perfectly possible, under which 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 l was going away
for 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, no; you have spokens 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.
"Ridiculonsr' 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 a burden upon them; that in a
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! What of the
pocket turned inside out, the tramplcd
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 We're made for her. Idiots are
not provided with street costumes. "
This was a clincher. Maxey, worsted,
as usual III an encounter with his sister,
iiihtt til iliticN dilt lclly anu tuTucu his
attention, with momentary irritation, to
DR.. 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 a similar manner. He suddenly bent
a meaning look upon the artist as he
made the deliberate reply:
"For good reasons. l have more than
Dnce suspected it y
Maxey started, He became at once
imbued with the suspicion which trou-
bled Lamar. He grew excited at once
That is something | had not thought
of, 1t would explain everything "
Possibly" said the doctor, resuming
his view of the river.
And it would prove that was some
thing too hasty in allowing her to be
brought here rather than to the hos
pital. If really believed it, would
Julian" Miss Maxey rose to her