Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-02-16


of Davis, whom he had heard Of but
never met, and thought we were
simply trying to put up game on
Linn. Naturally the more he scoffed 1T
the reality of Davis the more we nag
ged him, until finally in sheer despera-
tion he proposed to give quiet little
dinner for four of us, at which Robin
son, an artist and fellow club-member,
myself, Davis and Whiting were to
be the quartet. 4 Fe
Davis promised to be there, IL pos
sible, and said he was already &C.
quainted with Whiung-or course by
reputation only, he added with that
cynical smile we all hated. On the
night of the dinner Robinson and
were on hand early, for we were anx-
ious to see the meeting between Davis
and Whiting, and had made several
bets win the other fellows as to
whether Davis would snow up.
whiting appeared punctually as
usual, but though we waited until mid
night Davis failed to materialize. OF
course this settleu the matter in Whit
ing's mind for the time being, and he
made us set up several bottles Of wine
to drink to the health of his mythical
counterpart, as he called him.
"The next night, however, he came
to the club, and drawing Robinson
and me aside, id:-"Boys, this mat
ter has gone too far. l like joke,
but think 1t is rather rough for you
to keep it up And on our express
ing our ignorance Of his meaning he
showed us a letter from Davis regret
ting his inability 20 be present the
night before, and saying that he was
too Ill at the moment to make his re-
grets In person.
But, my dear fellow" said Robin
son, III you really think us guilty OF
this letter will you kindly explain how
il happens to be written on your own
paperT
"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 word. .-..
"After this occurrence we ceased
banterirg him about Davis and passed
the word around to the other fellows
to drop it, for we saw that the matter
worried him greatly and feared the ef-
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 note asking me to come up
to his den after dinner, as he had some
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-
hood, west of Ninth avenue, and the
house was one of n row of old fashion
ed frame buildings still I'm good repair,
but backed up against their rear were
several ramshackel old tenements,
nearly deserted by tenants.
Il had not seen Whiting for some
months and was shocked by the change
In his appearance. There were dark
circles under his eyes and strange
hunted expression in his face. He
grasped my hand eagerly and drew
a chair for me in front Of the crate
fire, for the evenings were still cool.
"'Doc,' he exclaimed suddenly, after
we had lit our cigars and talked gilt
tering generalities for few minutes,
that fellow Davis Is killing me by
inches"
have come to believe in him at last
| started to laugh, but checked my
self when l saw the expression Of his
face.
What is it, my dear boyT l asked,
soothingly. 1T certainly can't be SO
serious. What has he been up to
nOw|
IT'S damned queer business said
Whiting excitedly, and 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 call and left the
usual prescription he has sent note
to the patient initiating 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 1t. 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
O." 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 1t 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. l have
tried to explain them away, but Of
course cannot deny the tales, and l
fear 1t is all over for me in that quart
er. 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 longed to
get hold of the brute and force an ex-
planation from him; but, hiding my
anger, I tried to quiet Whiting, and
finally prevailed upon him to take a
heavy dose of choral, which l pre-
pared, ana to try to get q nights rest,
promising to see Miss Wiley shortly
and attempt to patch up matters.
II left him asleep on his lounge, and,
as it was still early, walked over to
Madison avenue, determined to call
on Miss Wiley, whom knew slightly,
and tell her of Writings condition.
"There was a light in the drawing
room, and, ringing the bell, I gave my
card to the servant, and he ushered
me in unannounced. Miss Wiley sat