The Minneapolis journal., 1904-12-31
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; , The Darrow Enigma ,
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there, and I'm not going to- be at all
delicate about my entrance either"
He looked at me little doubtful!y,
was pleased with my decision. went
into the hall and knocked loudly on the
door. There was no response. l kicked
it till must have been heard all over
the house, but still there was no re-
sponse. 1t was now clear I should not
or enter Eve D ars of hs ht went R 9h he
door and from that POSITION sPrang
against it. I am not, if you remember,
q heavy man, but momentum is NV
and l made up in the "V" what I
lacked in the "M.' The door opened
hIapS aRa 5eEs N 1sGn lts aHses
the center Of the apartment. AS look
back upon this incident l regard it as
the most precipitous thing l ever did In
the way Of q professional visit. Il the
young lady started at all. she did SO
sufficiently to notice it. l spoke to her,
but she gave no evidence Of hearing me.
raised her head. Her eyes were wide
open and stared full at me, yet in such
a blank way that knew she did not
he hear m me. The contraetion Of the brows,
and the rigor Of tho face told mo she
was under an all-but-breaking tension.
There were tear stains from tears which
long since had ceased to flow.
Hns thsm 1p ap f ressfded esssd had her dc5sa
as far more desperate than Gwen 3
would relax the tension she was under
and make it possible for her to sleep.
When I had administered this, Matt
| land and T talked the natter and
we decided to take her at once to my
house, where, with Gwen, sho could
share the watchful care Of my sister
Alice. This we did, tho was not
without some misgivings as to Gwen 8
attitude in the matter when she should
recover sufficiently. to know of it. I
expressed my doubts to Maitland, and
ness on that score; Miss Darrow is too
father upon an unoffending daughter,
and, besides, this man-it seems that
his real name is Latour, not Cazenove-
has right to be judged innocent until
his guilt is proved.'
I found this to be sage counsel, for,
when Gwen was able to understand
what had done, she exhibited no an
tipathy toward the new member Of our
household but, on the contrary, became
exceedingly interested in her. l was
especially glad Of this, not only on ac-
daughter, ai @ but ' also l' because ' the ep'e ons
thing Gwen needed above all others
was something to challenge her in
terest. She had again relapsed into the
old state Of passive endurance, where
in nothing seemed to reach her con-
sciousness. Her. actions appeared to
flow more from her nerve centers than
from her mind. She moved like an
automaton. There is scarcely any con-
dition Of which I am moro fearful than
hands. She viii do anything without
murmur, or as willingly refrain from
anything. She simply is Indifferent to
: life and all that therein is. Is it any
wonder, then, that rejoiced to see
Gwen interest herself in poor Jean
nettea Tt was a long. time, however,
before Jeanette repaid this interest
with anything moro than a dreamy, far
off gaze, that refused to focus itself
upon anything. AS time wore on, how
ever, noticed with relief that there
was faint expression Of wonder in
er, knew she was beginning to realize
her novel surroundings and to ask her
self if she were still dreaming. Yet
she did not speak; she seemed to fear
the sound Of her own voice and to de-
ttermine to solve, unaided, the mystery
confronting her. I requested that no
one question her or make any attempt
to induce her to break silence, for L
knew the time would come when she
would do so Of her own free will. AS
1t happened, her first words were spok-
en- to me, and, as my writing this
recalls the event, thrill Of pleas
uraDle pain passes thru me- You
may think this foolish, the more so, in
said to warrant such feeling, but
must urge upon you not to let your sat
listed heart set itself up as Judge il
bachelor regions.
had been mixing some medicine 70,
her and was holding the cup to her lip!
that t. at she might drink the draught: sht
t4S 2iR ase' at ssynE pd s5s yo s"ns
She reached for the cup, and drinking
with a half. satisfied look upon her face
as if my reply had cleared up one mys
terry, but left many more to be solved
From this day Jeannette steadily i'm
, proved; and within two weeks she ant
standing. T It was plainly evident de tndns tha
Alice, too, came in for very good shar
: Of the little French girls love. The,
, did not exchange condolences to an,
great degree, for, as. Maitland used t.
say, Alice was one Of those rare, swee
women who say but little, but seem
act upon all around them by a sort o
catalysis, sweetening the atmosphere b.
their very presence.
: ! erJhprrp r.