The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-01-08
The House Opposite
A M Us T Z r T.

hand swiftly over his face. as If anxious to
obliterate whatever might be written there
We'll. what is this missing lnk? he
asked with obviously enforced gayety. He
looked squarely at me, and he did so |
became convinced that he already knew
the answer to that question. For a moment
we stared at each other in silence. Were
my looks telltale, / wondered. and could he
see that had discovered his secret?
Say" broke in Mrs Atkins don't go
to sleep. What was this missing thing?"
would have given anything not TO have
had TO answer.
mo hat was found with the body" | said.
Atkins. / noticed. was again looking fixedly
at his wife, who had grown deadly white
and sat staring at him If hypnotized.
Both had apparently forgotten me. but yet
| felt deeply embarrassed at being present.
and dropped NY eyes to my plate, so as TO
give them a chance to regain their COM
posture unobserved
HAS the hat been found?" 1 heard her
inquire, and her high soprano voice had
again that peculiar grating quality l had
noticed during her interview with the cor
oner.
Yes / answered; lit was found i'm Ar
got's possession He actually wore it. and
laid II down under my nose. Insanity can
go no further"
But how did you know it was the miss
ing hat?" demanded Atkins, without taking
his eyes off his wife.
What could / answer? / was appalled, at
the dilemma into which my vanity and STU
pidity had led me.
Il suspected 1t was the hat which was
wanted" / blundered on, because Mr..
Merritt had told me he was looking for an
ordinary white straw containing the name
of a Chicago halter Argot's hat answered
to this description, and, the Frenchman
had never been West. l concluded that he
had not got ii by fair means
SO the dead man hailed from Chicago.
did he?" inquired Atkins.
THE detective thinks So" I answered.
Have the police discovered his name
yet?"
IL am not sure."
You are discreet, i see.'
Indeed, no." 1 assured him. 1.-THE last
time 1 saw Mr. Merritt he was. still in
doubt as to the mans real name"
He only knew that the initials were A.
b." said Atkins, quickly.
glanced rapidly from the husband to
the wife. They sat facing each other UNI
1inchingly. like two antagonists of mettle,
their faces drawn and set. But the strain
proved too much for the woman, and in
another moment she would have fallen To
the floor if had not managed TO catch her.
Instead of assisting me, her husband sat
quite STILL Wiping great beads OF perSpira-
ton from his forehead
Come here" l said. and help me to
carry your wife to the window.
He got up as If dazed and came slowly
toward me. and together we carried her to
lounge in the drawing room.
Look here, you told me yourself that
all mention of the murder made your wife
extremely nervous, and yet you distinctly
encouraged us to talk about it this evening.
DO you tnlnk tndt flSnt.
He stared at me with unSeeing eyes and
appeared not to understand what 1 was
saying.
81 had to find out the TRUTH" he NUT
tered.
Look here. man. cried. shaking him
| by the arm, pull yourself together. Don't
let your wife see that expression on your
| face when she comes to. This is not sim
| pie faint; your wife's heart is affected, and
| if you excite her still further you may kill
her.
| the best of his ability in my endeavors to
restore her. She soon opened her eyes and
glanced timidly at her husband. He man.
aged to smile affectionately at her, which
seemed to reassure her.
How stupid of me to faint" she ex-
claimed. but it was so very hot"
Yes. the heat is dreadful; you really
| should not overtax yourself during this
| weather" said her husband gently, laying
| his hand hers. She beamed at him,
while lovely pink overspread her pale face
go to bed im,oediately % / said. ''''S ~
"Oh, no. no. she cried petulantly; I'm
all right" But as she tried to stand up
| she staggered helplessly.
II insist on your going to bed, Lulu I
| shall carry you upstairs at once" And the
big man picked her up without more ado.
| ping like pleased child.
You see, doctor, what a tyrant he is
she cried. waving her small hand as she
| disappeared.
w
night, but he motioned me to return to my
| seat. and, handing me a box of cigars, in
| sisted on my taking one. Then. dragging
| a chair forward, he sat down facing me-
| We puffed away for several minutes in ST.
! lence. / was sure, from his manner, that
he was trying to get up his courage to tell
me something.
| "You said just now that Mrs Atkins has
| something the matter with her hearth"
| I'm afraid so, but 1 do not fancy it is
| anything very serious and if il is taken in
L a
is no reason that she should not recover
| completely"
| He got up and paced the room.
| II love her." he murmured.
/ watched him with increasing perplexity.
well, IL that is so treat her differently.
You sit and watch her in way that is
/ enough to make any one nervous, let alone
| delicate woman. Forgive my speaking
/ so plainly, but 1 consider it my duty a
| physician. l am convinced that the ex-
which. by the way. 1 have failed to OBJ
serve) is not to be attributed to the murder
| at all, but to your behavior. 1 don't think
you have any idea how strange that is"
| 'Oh, but my wife has not been nervous
| since the Frenchman was arrested. We
| watched him being taken away from your
house, and last night she slept quietly for
! the first time since the tragedy" He paused
and looked at me as if he longed to say
| more.
| "Well that is quite natural / think
can imagine nothing more alarming than to
| know that you are living under the same
| roof with An undetected criminal, who
| might at any time make of his free
dom to commit another murder. Till she
knew who was guilty she must have sus-
! pected and feared everybody. Now that
| she knows the fellow to be under lock and
key she can sleep in peace"
| Atkins sat down.
Doctor, men of your calling are the same
as confessors, are they not?"
| IF you mean as regards the sanctity of
| professional communications, yes"
Then / should like TO confide few
things to you under the seal of that pro-
| fessional secrecy
| 'All right; go ahead"
do you know that my wife is from Chi
cago?"
| Yes
al have never been there myself, and con-
| sequently know none of her friends. You
much opposed to my marriage He col
| lected a lot of cock-and-bull stories about
| my wife, which, needless to say, / did not
believe. So the wedding took place, and
| until a week ago, i can truthfully say that
have been perfectly happy
| What happened them
| 81 had to go out of town for two days
on business, and got back very late on
Wednesday night. having been delayed by
! an accident on the line. / was careful &c
| be very quiet i let myself in, anxious
not to wake up my wife, who, / expected
would be fast asleep at that hour. 1 was
| therefore, surprised and pleased to find the
hall still ablaze with light. So she had sat
up for me after all. l thought. Taking off
my hat, l turned to hang il on the rack
when / noticed a strange hat among my
own. / took it down and examined it. ii
contained the name of a Chicago halter