Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1900-02-08

Il SO Y i.tl f u 3 II . =
this occasion, only four or five Of the
once identified as the Strong Man,
from his quaint build, while another
proved to be the boss" himself. They
both greeted Sam cheerfully, and re-
ceived me affably as a prospective
patron of the entertainment. Nor had
they any hesitation in accepting an in
vitationsto join us in liquid refresh
ment, and we soon became quite
friendly. I kept the conversation
chiefly upon the topics most likely to
interest them until I, so to speak,
forced the card l wished upon the
owner of the show "Excuse me, SIR
he said, 'but are you in the pro your
self?"
mo, not in the pro- but / am a pro-
fessional man for all that" l made an
swer. II am very fond of not over
pretentious entertainments, such as 1
understand yours to be, as a relaxation
from my serious work. But am maxi
ing a specially of cases of mental de-
Iangement. or madness, as it is COM
monty termed. That is, perhaps, why
l do so greatly enjoy little amuse-
ment in my leisure time.'
Sam locked at me approvingly. in
order, doubtless. to let me see he thor
oughly appreciated the motive of this
mis-statement The other two eN-
changed glances which seemed to indl-
cate that the bait had taken.
Strange thing is madness, SIR re
marked the Strong Man, reflectively.
Every STRANGE" assented, assuming
an impressive, persuasive manner.
"a fall, a blow, or even a nervous
| shock, and the strongest brain may
become wreck. Fortunately, the sub
| ject is much better understood now
than it used to be, and we are learn
| ing to distinguish between downright
!! insanity and merely temporary mental
alteration"
| l was aiming all this heavy talk at
the Strong Man, of course, and the re-
| suit surpassed my expectations. lie
seized me by the hand, vowed it was
! alike an honor and pleasure to meet
professor of my distinction, and
| begged me almost plaintiyely to see
| him after the conclusion of the per-
| Torrance. 70 this request. after some
affected consideration, assented, ana
we all adjourned to the tents.
would not hear of any free list, but,
as I did not wish to run any risk OF
premature recognition by Tom Webb,
| made Sam take the tickets.
"You may clear as soon as you like
when the show is over,' l told him.
slipping sovereign into his ready
hand "See me in the morning."
Fright " are. sir!" he replied, with
broad grin. you've got the inner run
ming, sir, ard no mistake!"
A broad, clumsy compliment enough
to my strategy but it pleased me. 1t
seemed to me that yet another veil was
about to be removed from the great
mystery.
Ihe "turns" of the little show were,
naturally not of a very interesting de-
scription. and [ am afraid that even
the Strong Mans feats, which so in
terested Sam. were not beyond suspi-
cion as to exact avoirdupois. The en-
tertainment had, at least, the merit OF
brevity. Within an hour it was over.
Sam forthwith disappeared, and L
awaited the Strong Man. He did not
keep me waiting long, but explained
that a dear friend Of his, whom he par
ticularly wished me to see, would be
delayed perhaps quarter OF an hour.
Would I do him the very great favor
Of accepting a glass Of wine pending
his friends arrival? Of course, I as
scented. and he led me back to the iney-
table pub. but this time into more
select ssaloon-bar" Despite my pro-
tests, he insisted upon ordering cham
payne and sixpenny cigars; and when
a man Of this class does this, it either
means that he is going to ask some ia.
yor or that he wishes to show off. l
lit the proffcred cigar, took a sip Of the
wine. and waited for him to break the
ice
"See here, professor" he began. II
want YOU to understand from the start
that I can't pay any very heavy fee
for your advice, but so far as hve
pounds go, you're welcome to them If
you'll only make it plain to me what l
ought to do
eco on 1 saod, quietly.
"Well, sir, I've friend living With
me that I've got to be very fond of.
Some months ago he met with bad
accident. 1t nearly cost him his life,
but 1 nursed him through. somehow:
Pm afraid he'll be a bit soft to the end
of his life, but that amt the worst OF
it. Although he's fairly sensible in
most things-not exactly all there,
but still understanding most of WHAT'S
going on-he remembers nothing of his
past life before the accident came
about him, not even his own name"
THAT is by no means uncommon
result Of severe injury to the BRAIN" l
remarked; land, more often than not,
the injured person imagines himself to
be somebody else. But, pardon me,
are you referring to the friend for
whom we are waiting?'
"No,'' he replied, little awkwardly,
Though, oddly enough, he's bit era
Nv, too. A poor, harmless creature,
whom I found, more than a month
ago, half dead from cold and hunger
on Mitcham Common. took him
home with ME, my friend took fancy
to him, and he stayed on with us. He
is a first-rate scholar, and the boss
finds him AT at figures and looking. af-
ter the takings, though he laughed at
me at first for giving the poor chap
food and shelter. I'd like to know,
sir. what the Almighty gave me the
strength Of two ordinary men for, ex-
cepr to help those who can't help
themselves?''
There was not the faintest trace Of
cont aho1,t the little giant. Every