The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1899-07-07
night Davis failed to materialIze. OF


counterpart, as he called him.
'The next night, however, he came
10 the club, and drawing Robinson
| snd me aside, said:-'Boys, this mat
| ter has gone too far. i like joke,
but l think it is rather rough for you
to keep it up And on our express
ing our ignorance of his meaning he
showed us = letter from Davis regret
ting his inability 70 be present the
night before, and saying that he was
| too i'll at the mc--r'~ to make his re-
! grets in perka@
But, my dear fellow" said Robin
son, ''if you really think us guilty Of
this letter will you kindly explain how
IL happens to be written on your own
paperY
whiting grabbed up the note and
seemed frightened for the moment,
for at the head Of the letter was his
crest and the envelope bore the impress
sion Of his private seal, which he al
ways wore ON his watch chain. He
looked at it searchingly, and then left
the club without a word.
"After this occurrence we ceased
bantering him about Davis and passed
the word around to the other fellows
=,
worried him greatly and feared the eff
feet of our chaff on his high strung,
nervous temperament. Davis came to
the club less frequently during the
winter but at every mention Of Whit
ing's name he smiled and said he was
sorry they did not hapen to meet.
Zone day, early in the spring, Whit
ing sent a note asking me to come up
70 n; 10 n tn hn cd n
thing Of Importance to tell, and begged
me not to fail him. l had often been
to his office on Madison avenue, but
had never visited him at his rooms on
-th street. 1t was . quiet neighbor-
house WAS one of row Of old fashion
ed frame buildings still In good repair,
but backed up against their rear were
several ramshackel old tenements,
nearly deserted by tenants.
81 had not seen Whiting for some
months and was shocked by the change
In his appearance There were dark
circles under his eyes and a strange
hunted expression in hie face. He
grasped my hand eagerly md drew
a chair for me in front Of the CRATE
fire, for the evenings were still cool.
we had lit our cigars and talked gilt
tering generalities for few minutes,
that fellow Davis is killing me by
inches"
why, old man. said, so you
have come to believe in him at last
I started to laugh, but checked my
self when l saw the expression of his
face.
What is 1t, my dear boyT asked,
soothingly. 1T certainly can't be SO
serious. What has he been up to
now?'
TITS damned queer business said
Whiting eXcitedly, 'and l can't imagine
his motive; but these are the facts.
For several weeks this fellow has
logged my footsteps, and after have
made a professional Nll and left the
usual prescription he mas sent a note
to the patient imiating my handwrit.
ing and changing the medicines for
others, which, had they been taken as
directed, would have In some cases
proved fatal. Fortunately the drug
gists have telephoned me that there
was some mistake and l have been
able to correct it. But of course this
constant changing of prescriptions
has affected my practice terribly, and
people are beginning to think that my
mind is unbalanced.
"'But, my dear fellow said L, trying
to quiet him, why not give UP your
practice for a few weeks and take
decided rest. and meanwhile we will
deal with this fellow Davis as he
deserves
But that Is not ALL continued
Whiting, despairingly. 1T is true l
don't need the income from my
practice, and work more from the love
of it than for the fees, but he has gone
still further and dared to call on Miss
Wiley, my fiancee, and tell her many
of the foolish escapades of my college
days, the secret of which l thought
was buried in my own breast. / have
tried to explain them away, but Of
course cannot deny the tales, and
fear 1t is all over for me in that quart
er. 1 can't see how she could listen
to the cad or where she could have met
him.
Davis actions seemed to be more
inexplicable than ever, and l ionged to
get hold Of the brute and force an ex-
PLANTATION from him; but, hiding my
anger, l tried to quiet Whiting, and
finally prevailed upon him to take
heavy dose Of choral, which l pre-
pared, and to try to get nights rest,
promising to see Miss Wiley shortly
and attempt to patch up matters.
81 left him asleep on his lounge. and
as 1t was still early, walked over to
Madison avenue, determined to call
on Miss Wiley, whom l knew slightly,
and tell her Of Writings condition.
"There was a light in the drawing
room, and, ringing the bell, gave my
card to the servant, and he ushered
me In unannounced. Miss WILEY sat
at the piano, her hands on the keys,
while standing at her side and looking
down ardently into her upturned face
was-Davis.
"For a moment I could not speak
and seemed glued to the floor, but
Davis quickly advanced and, after a
few polite inquiries about my health
and his dear friend Whiting, pleaded
an engagement and left
"His presence In the house and his
unmistakable loverllke attitude made
II very painful for me to speak, but
remembering the condition Of Door
WHITING md hour hoo ~ l,rolyau I,c ooovx