The Yale expositor., 1896-12-11

tor VINO KNEW WnaJ KNEW Wouiu Hei'S
given the verdict against him.
After dismissing his visions and hal
lucinatons with the contempt which
they deserved, the fact of man who
was madly, passionately in love with a
woman, and who believed that she had
been entrapped and was still kept in
restraint, sitting down quietly, and let
ting day after day pass without MAX
ing an effort toward finding her, was in
itself prima facie evidence OF insanity.
A sane man would at once have set all
the engines Of detection at work.
l felt that If once Ralph Ca rriston
obtained possession of him he could
make out a strong case in his own
favor. First of all, the proposed mar
riage out of the defendants own sphere
of life; the passing under false name;
the ridiculous, or apparently ridicu-
lous, accusation made against his kins-
man; the murderous threats; the chas-
| tisement of his own paid agent who
brought him report which might not
Seem at al untrue to anyone who knew
not Madeline Rowan. Leaving out of
the question what might be wrung from
me in cross-examination, Ralph Car
riston had a strong case, and knew
that, once in his power, my friend
might possibly be doomed to pass
years, if not his whole life, under re-
straint. So l was anxious, very anx-
ious.
And l felt an anxiety, scarcely sec
ond to that which prevailed on Car
riston's account, as to the fate of Mad
cline. Granting for sake of argument
that Carriston's absurd conviction that
no bodily harm had as yet been done
her, was true, felt sure that she with
her scarcely less sensitive nature must
feel the separation from her lover as
much as he himself felt the separation
from her Once or twice / tried to
comfort myself with cynicism-tried to
persuade myself that a young woman
could not in our days be spirited away
that she had gone by her own free
| will-that there was q man who had at
the eleventh hour alienated her affec-
tions from Cariston. But / could not
bring myself to believe this. So l was
placed between the horns of dilem-
ma.
If Madeline had not fed of her own
free will, someone must have taken her
away, and if so our agents report was
a coined one, and, if coined one, is
sued at Ralph's instance; therefore
Ralph must be the prime actor in the
mystery.
But in sober moments such deduc-
tion seemed an utter absurdity.
Although l have said that Carriston
was doing nothing towards clearing vi
the mystery, wronged him in so say
= ing After his own erratic way he was
: at work. At such work too! l really
: lost all patience with him.
7 He shut himself up in his room, on
e of which he scarcely stirred for three
( days. BY that time he had completed
a large and beautiful drawing of hi
D imaginary man. This he took to ;
y well-known photographers, and or
i dered several hundred small photo
!. graphs of it to be prepared as soon a
S possible. The minute description
s which he had given me of his fancifu
h creation was printed at the foot of eacl
!, copy. AS oon as the first batch o
J, these precarious photographs was sen
home, to my great joy he did what h
t should have done days ago: yielded t
: my wishes, and put the matter into tn
o hands of the police.
t l was glad to find that in giving de
: tails of what had happened he sal
:. nothing about the advisability of keep
I ing a watch on Ralph aCrriston's pro
r ceedings. He did indeed offer an alb
surdly large reward for the discover
of the missing girl, and, moreover
gave the officer in charge of the case
, packet of photographs of his phantor
man, telling him in the gravest name
, that he knew the original of that like
ness had something to do with the dis
- appearance of Miss Rowan. The off
Ger, who thought the portrait was tina
7 of q natural being, took his instruction
; in good faith, although he SCENE
:, greatly surprised when he heard tina
= Carriston knew neither the name no
% the occupation, in fact knew nothin
= concerning the man who was to b
~ :. sought for. However, as Carriston a:
= sured him that finding this man woul
= insure the reward as much as if h
- found Madeline, the officer readil
. promised to combine the two task
little knowing what waste of time an
= attempt to perform the latter must b
i Two days after this Cariston came
= me. 81 shall cave you tomorrow" /
said.
a Where are you going?" 1 aske
:, "Why do you leave?"
= 81 am going to travel about. hav
= - no intention of letting Ralph get hol
=, of me. So mean to go from place
- place until / find Madeline"
- BE careful" l urged.
% II shall be careful enough. I'll tai
n care that no doctors, surgeons. or eve
m apothecaries get on my track. l sha
,k go just as the fit seizes me. II / car
n say one day where l shall be the mex
Il will be impossible for that villain