Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1900-02-15
CHAPTER XVII. Continued,

Idrst pal Is always trying his hardest
L0 recdiect the past, whereas the
bookkeeper seems to shirk all refer
lence to 1t. I'm pretty sure Il was an
lawful fright OF some kind turned his
brain: he sometimes fancies he sees
iEyes following him about everywhere,
until It's quite a job TO quiet him. But
hes a lot better than he was when l
first came across him. Heaven save
Ius! He was more like a galvanized
corpse In the horrors than a hur IN
being! Now, sir, what I'D like to have
lis your opinion Of 'em both, after see
Ing and talking to 'em-more especial
lily my own particular pal. Our crib
Inin't five minutes walk from here, IL
you don't mind going that far" .s
Every well. I'll do my best" l re-
Joined. upon n condition
What's that. slr?'
THAT you'll regard my visit as mere
lily a friendly one, and make no fur
Ither aIlusion to fees"
To this, after some demur. he CRATE
fully assented, aud we proceeded TO
pick up the snoney-taker, who was
lawaiting his friend and protector in
the tent. Poor old Tom Webb! MY
heart went out to him hen | set eyes
upon his distorted. imbecile face, but
did not In any way court his atten-
ton. de glanced at me ia.tively, in
a puzzled sort of way, but gave no
sign of recognizing ME.
y, This gentleman's coming home with
lns TO see Ned explained the Strong
Man. "He's a doctor, you know"
"A doctor, 10 hep echoed Tom, suspi-
clously. "Can he minister to a mind
diseasedT / don't see what he can do
for Ned, otherwise" However. as he
had no definite objection to urge
against my company, we all three set
or together.
One large sufficed as bed
for the goOd-naturei pocket Hercules
and his two proteges, while a smaller
X apartment did duty as sitting room
and kitchen. / saw no signs around
Of anything approaching real poverty:
indeed, to judge from the ample and
varied contents of the cupboards pres
entity ransacked to provide supper. the
housekeeping was characterized by a
rough abundance Indicative OF brisk
business and good salaries.
Stay-at-Home Ned welcomed the
Strong man and Tom with unaffected
delight. He was a tall, ll-built man,
rather under than oyer thirty, but ap-
peared weak, as though conyalescent
from some serious illness, and there
J was something in his voice and man.
ner that plainly indicated in enfee-
bled intellect. He seemed to me, how
ever. 20 be a far man than Tom
Webb.
Dicks brought a doctor to see you"
n Hn,a..sf-agI fkns IN Asnx. a UfFfIx ,,o IinfaYtyE
", as l thought.
"a friend of mine, Ned" put in the
Strong Man, hastily, "who has just
dropped in for a friendly chat. If he's
a bit Of a doctor, too. that amt nc
harm. is it, old chap?"
Certainly not" answered Ned. II
am very pleased to see you, sir. BY
the way" he added, sinking his voice.
and indicating Tom Webb, "you must
not mind what that poor fellow says.
He's a little bit-you know" And he
touched his own forehead significant
ly''
I nodded sympathetically, though l
could scarcely reRress a laugh. Each
knew the other to be mentally weak,
/! but neither seemed to realize his WI
deficiencies. A very common thing,
especially among persons not hopeless
Iy insane; but grlmiy humorous, for
all that.
AS 1t was my especial business, both
for my hosts sake and my own, to ar
rive at some reliable opinion as to the
actual mental condition of the pair, I
laid myself out to sound them upon
every likely topic I could think Of,
while Dick (as they called him) pre-
pared n very ample supper. With
Tom Webb the task was an easy one
enough. familiar ms | was with we'll
nigh every incident in his previous
career. Yet, although / tried him,
with the most tbinly-veiled illusions
to his boyhood, his family, myself and
his journalistic life, ! failed utterly to
elicit a single responsive echo on any
of these points, Only when, in 2esper-
alton, / alluded to the Great Fog, did
I succeed In arousing him.
"Ah, yes!' he exclaimed, placing his
outstretched hands at some distance
from his face, as though to ward of
some dreaded sight. 81 know!--A
thick, brown fog. nearly black. And
then-something lying In the room-a
something with wild, staring eyes!
Ugh! They follow me still, sometimes,
especially when I'm alone! Ugh
those eyes!"
"Never mind the eyes" put In Ned,
s~oothingly, and with a warning look
at me, "they can't hurt you, and it
only worries YOU to think about them"
But II my progress with Tom Webb
was unsatisfactory, my efforts to draw
out his companion were scarcely more
successful, although I chatted with
him freely throughout the supper.
Upon ordinary, everyday subjects he
spoke quite sensibly, but any reference
20 e the best-kncwn events, sin
months old. merely seemed to distress
him.
Perhaps I'd better tell you what lit
tie / kre.w of the smash that knocked
him silly" whispered Dicky to me,
seeing that I made no Roadway.
'They usually 60 10 bed just after sup
per. and leave me to my pipe and a
glass OF grog."
l nodded assent, for although the
story OF Ned's mishap could have but
little interest, as | thought, for me, |
might, later on, pick up some further
aarana af Information ahouf Tam