The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1908-04-10
s The Honor Of
s Nurse Joyce



ed so much of reality, that Christabel
| quivered with sympathy, thinking how
! this poor, tortured brain was suffer
| ing.
These are the delusions of which l
was told by Lady Sisterson and the
DOCTOR" she said to herself.
"Help. help!" called Sir John. harsh
ly-it was like strangled cry of
alarm. And then came another pause,
but of longer duration than any that
had preceded it.
Yes, yes" he was saying quietly
I'm afraid he's dead. He's my part
ner. Very. very sad. Yes, he fell
from the top of that scaffolding. He
| must have made false step. or by
some mischance have lost his balance.
No, | did not see him fall. but heard
the crash Yes, it's frightfully sad.
Here's my card. ofiicer-John Sister
son. builder. Wandsworth. He's my
partner. and as good man as ever
stepped Get all ambulance-yes. but
Toms dead Best take him home.
Dead" repeated Sir John, family; and
lapsed into silence.
The machinery of the sick brain
had stopped again: the eyes. which
had become suffused with blood, clos
ed. and the lips drew together. Sir
John was to all appearances totally
inaninlate once more as Christabel
bathed his face and did what she
could to ease him.
She was about to sit down by Sir
Johns side when she noticed for the
first time that Maxwell Sisterson was
standing in the room: he had come in
so softly that she had not heard him
enter, nor could she tell how long he
had been there AS she met his gaze
she thought that he looked at her curl
ously.
He is asleep again. he said, in his
slow way
II am afraid that he's unconscious, y
! said Christabel.
He's been speaking. nurse?"
Yes. like man i'll dream; he did
not know what he was saying
He is sometimes like that - gen
orally once day. believe said
Maxwell. He suffers from chronic
delusion - from a fixed idea. as Dr..
/ Flint calls it. His brain appears to
! revolve until some thing like a spring
| is touched. his tongue is loosed, and
he speaks this nonsense. My poor
| father talks OF some secret. and of
! the death OF partner he had while
he was a comparatively young man;
he talked OF these again just now,
nurseo''
Yes. he did"
| II know for ! heard most of what
he said. | have heard it all before.
!! The odd thing" he continued. in his
slow. hard voice. lis that there is a
secret in his-in our business; it is
the process by which our cement is
manufactured, but everybody knows
that that is secret. And another
strange thing. nurse. is that his part
| me- was killed by falling from scat
folding. 1t happened long ago: in
fact before ] was born-some years
! before. His death made no great stir
al the time. and was Immediately for
gotten my father was not the rich
and we'll known man he is to-day,
though he and his partner were in fair
circumstances. The secret of our
/ business and his partners death-it
is on these that my fathers de!usion
arc based: it is these that obsess his
brain. I have told you the facts. All
the rest that you have heard is sick
mans diseased fancy. as you will nc
doubt have guessed for yourself"
of course, in his condition." said
Christabel, ''he is completely irrespon
sible. understand that thoroughly
and know that mems thoughts wan
der and take on strange shapes when
their minds are affected
Yes: there is nothing unusua
about my fathers case. But 1 deem
ed it we'll that you should be acquaint
Ell with the actual truth; I suppose
there is generally some foundation
for these fantastic imaginings of f:
brain that has been injured Yo,
will probably hear him repeat again
and again what he has said this even
ing-and it might get on your nerves.
CEristabel thought that he meant t,
be kind, so she thanked him.
1T was best to tell you," he said
My poor fathers delusion is a mon
strously painful one to all of us. Film
has tried various ways of keeping
him quiet but they have not been sue
cessful; perhaps nothing would be
And after time you will become &C
customed to these rawlings"
YES" said Christabal, but 1t j
piteous to hear him."
Have you ever had similar case
nnrse?"
Not quite similar, think" reptile
Christabel There are hardly an
two case of mental trouble that ar
alike
But the persistence of the thint
the fixed Ideals that new in your e.
perience?" I'll
II have never come across anythin
of the kind, but have heard and rea
Of it. 1t is not a new thing.1
No, 1t is not new thing, sal
! Maxwell, who. all the time he ha
been talking, had been gains admi