Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1903-12-15
XIV.
The New Doctor.

Quincy improved the first opportuni.
ty offered for safe travelling to make a
visit to the city. He had several mat
tiers to attend to. First, he had not
sent his letter to his friend, request
ing him to make inquiries as to Obadi-
ali Strout's war record, for the great
snowstorm had come the day after he
had written it. Second, he was going
to take Alice's story to show to a lit
erary friend, and see if he could Sc
cure its publication. And this was
not all: Alice had told him, after he
had finished copying the story she had
dictated to him, that she had written
several other short stories during the
past two years.
In to his urgent request,
she allowed him to read her treasured.
manuscripts. The first was a passion
ate love story in which a young Span
ish officer, stationed on the island Of
Cuba, and a beautiful young Cuban
girl were the principals. 1t was EMIT
lad "Her Native Land" and was re-
plete with startling situations and eff
fectiye tableaux. Quincy was delight
ed with it, and told Alice if dramatized
1T would make a fine acting play. This
was. of course, very pleasing to the
young author. Quincy was her aman-
uensis, her audience, and her critic,
and she knew that in his eyes she was
already a success.
She also gave him to read a series
Of eight stories, in a line usually es-
teemed quite foreign to feminine in
stincts. Alice had conceived the idea
of a young man, physically weak and
suffering from " debility, Delne
left an immense fortune at the age OF
81, His money was well invested, and
In company with a faithful attendant
he travelled for fifteen years, covering
every nook and corner of the habitable
globe. At So he returned home much
improved in health, but still having
marked aversion to engaging in AM
business pursuit. A mysterious case
and it's solution having been related
to him, he resolved to devote his in
come, now amounting to a million do
lars yearly, to amateur detective work
His great desire was to ferret out ant
solve mysteries, murders, suicides, rob
berries, and disappearances that bal
fed the police and eluded their yigl
liant inquiry.
The titles that Alice had chosen TO
her stories were as mysterious, in thei
way, as the stories themselves. Al
ranged in the order of their writing
they were: Was 1t Signed? TIL
Man Without a Tongue; He Though
He Was Dead; The Eight of Spades
The Exit of Mrs. Delmonnay; How
Caught the Fire-Bugs; The Hot Hand
and the Mystery of unreachable II
land.
When Quincy first reached the cit.
his first visit was to his fathers Office
hut he found him absent. He wa
told that he was conducting a case i
the Equity Session of the suprem
court, and would not return to the 0
fee that day.
Instead of leaving his letter at hi
friends office, he went directly to tn
adjutant generals Office at the stat
house. Here he found that an a
duaintanee of his was employed as
clerk, He was of foreign birth, b,
had served CALAMITY through the We
and had left an arm upon the battl
field. He made his request for a; COZ
of the war record Of Obadiah Strou
o. the -th Mass. Volunteers, Then
thought came suddenly to him and
requested one also Of the record of H
ram Maxwell of the same regiment,
Leaving the state house on the Ha
cock ayenu side, he walked dow
LH NaE XIX