The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1902-08-29
TWO
LUNATICS
-. By p. Y. BLACK
Copyright. 1909,
By me $. 5. MCCLURE Company

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at was a shameful trap" he said,
"on the part of my people. The doctors
were very careless in their diagnosis.
To shut me up in a place like this was
really too bad. In very short time.
however. expect to leave"
'Oh, dear" she thought. her eyes
dimming. they all say thatI To think
that the poor man will never, never,
never leave. 81 am so glad-for you"
she said aloud. You will be over
joyed."
"oh, I-yes. But do you know this
sanitarium is not SO bad"
do you mean" she said gently, sur.
prised. that you will-er-have any re-
grets in leavingw
NO" he said. mot exactly that, of
course-not regrets. so far as concerns
myself. for 1t is so humiliating to be
committed, you know" He paused.
But" he went on. "even in asylums
one makes friends, and-one regrets
for them"
He looked down with a tenderness
and a pity he could not hide. and she
blushed, and for a moment there was
silence. Then she said, with an OBJ.
viously strained laugh:
I'VE are friends, of course. Mr.. st
John. What an awful existence il
would be here IL one had no sympa-
.thetic friends! But you must not regret
so much on my account In a very
short time think my friends will take
me home"
He choked a groan before she could
hear 1t.
"The poor little thingw he thought
''They all say that. And that decent
young fellow. the doctor. assures me
her case Is very puzzling and her
friends fear incurable. l am SO glad
for you," he said. would it not be
jolly IL we became friends in the world
as we have been when out Of the
worldT
Then he blamed himself again
"If she really likes me-" he thought
'and l think the unhappy child does.
should EeYer had said that. 1t is cruel
ofutais W kus SUN ehouSheS Az nSi
head"
She was looking at him with the
fearful smile we essay when we en-
courage one who does not realize that
death is near.
cit would be nice-very nice indeed
They We're silent again. each sorrow
ing for the other.
Thara nfhor nofianfS
strolling on the lawns or sitting In the
summer houses. patients of all kinds
from the shaky narcomaniac to the op
timistically cheerful paretic. Attend
ants, male and female, moved unobtru
sively among them.
Miss Tracy and St John stood to
gether, silent now and unostentatiously
observant. A sturdily built (all the at
tendants were that man was taking 9
patient to the iron barred house. He
did not do II violently. He did it as one
may see q policeman occasionally es
cort a quiet prisoner with a light toucf
on the captive's arm above the elbow
The patient was little excited. but
there was no disturbance at all. A Wis
strange thing was the unanimous back
ward withdrawal from the attendant.
path Of the patients encountered, the
look of fright or dislike on their facei
directed not at the captive, but at the
guard.
'How they all dread him-instinctive
ly. 1t seems" said the young woman
who expected to leave soon." He IL
polite enough and not Ill looking
but
"a man Of great experience in his
peculiar work, I'm told" said st. Johr
musingly.
Its his eye and mouth that do it.
fancy"
"a thoroughly i'll dispositioned man
with a plausible exterior" said st
John. 81 believe him capable of It."
"Of murder? Do-oh, what are yor
talking of. Mr.. St JohnT
st. John looked very uncomfortable
Miss Tracy looked vexedly embar
raised.
~ heard some rumor Of a strang,
death In the Institution just before
came. / was thinking Of it. Were yol
here? Have you heard anything Ol
it?"
He was a little eager.
"How could be here? We came OF
the same day. don't you remember
"Ah, truep
So they watched the attendant out OF
sight and turned to go inside them
selves.
They shook hands, although ther,
was no reason for it. They would NEE
at the dinner table in a few minutes
but-they shook hands and that lin
geringly.
Its awfully sad" St John ponder
ed. $50 sweet a face. seemingly so in
telligent. l wish-oh, pshaw! WHAT
the use of wishing? These things art
not to be remedied. l wonder if-she't
give me a photograph"
Miss Tracy went to her room slowly
81 am silly to be SO affected by al
ordinary case. There are thousand
like him. Butch, dear. oh. dear! 1
I'd known / was to have this sad 81
perience, 1 would never have consente,
to come-neverr'
They had no opportunity to NEE
! alone for several days. Perhaps the
might have made opportunities. bu
they did not Doubtless 1t occurred t
each Of these two lunatics that it wa
the wiser thing to stifie at once an.
friendship which each thought likel.
to cause useless pain in the future +
F, the other.
! DIR. Bell found these two Of his resi-
dents particularly interesting in thos
days. and SO did the attendant 1t wa