The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-10-21
CHAPTER VII.
Continued.

Imposed too much on your good ma
ture as it is" Miss Somers said. 1--WE
can never thank you enough for your
kindness"
"Oh, pooh. That's nothing! I wish
T could feel that I had been of some
USE"
she has been sleeping soundly
SINCE 6 O'clock" Miss Somers pur-
sued, land of course she must have
her sleep out; but is there nothing
I can do in the meantime?"
Before Lord Wartlebury could
answer the door opened and Ger
trude appeared. with a pale face and
big black circles around her eyes,
but neat, and composed as she had
been the day before.
81 feel quite fresh" she said, "and
shall be glad Of some breakfast and
some strong hot coffee, Annie. please.
I am not in the least surprised to see
you, Lord W%artleDury. I suppose
Annie told you l was here, and it was
just like you to come. But do you
know, think I have made a mis-
take. I don't think I ought to have
left the cottage. I fancy he must
have returned by this time, and prob
ably is anxious about me-"
Lord Wartlebury took a telegram
out of his pocket.
ut is perhaps better not to encour-
age false hopes" he said. "Dr. Man
sell telegraphed to M this morning
to tell you that they had continued
their search, but had found no fur
Their trace"
HE may have gone to consult his
DOCTOR" Gertrude suggested, after
some moments thought. II will go
at once and see."
It was a well-known consulting
physician to whom she went, and by
a fortunate accident she found him
disengaged and able to see her.
Doctor, has my husband been
here?" she began abruptly.
Your husDand2"
Leslie Somers," she explained.
ooh, yes-of course. 1 have not
had the pleasure of seeing you be-
fore, you Know" He unlocked a
case-book and found what he wanted.
"Oh, yes, he was here exactly six
weeks ago to-day"
Her c~ountenance fell. "And you
have not seen him since?"
mo"
"Perhaps had better tell you why
[ ask" and she proceeded to explain.
The doctor listened with grave at
tention.
1T is a curious affair."" he OBJ
served, "but not unprecedented.
Your husband was suffering from
the effects of over-work. I certainly
did not apprehe4d any serious trou-
BILE, but such a thing was quite pos
sible, and I advised him to be most
careful. Had he any fancy, any NOR
bid notion-any persistent idea, in
a word, which amounted to a delu-
sion?"
"No, nothing that I know Of, and
I think I should have known. He
seemed to have benefited very much
by the change and was in excellent
spirits"
81 had a somewhat similar case
some years ago." the doctor said,
"and I tell you about it in order to
show you that there. is no real cause
for alarm. 1t was also a case of
overwork, that of a clergyman with
a large parish-a conscientious man
who had toiled day and night dur
ing an epidemic of typhus fever. He
came to me complaining Of great de-
preston, and I advised rest and
change of scene, and also prescribed
for his general health. which was
quite below par. Well, he went to
a seaside place with his family, just
as your husband seems to have done,
and the next thing 1 heard Of him
was that he disappeared. Of course
his friends were in a terrible state
of anxiety about him; detectives
were employed and the case got into
the papers. They traced him to
London, but further than that they
could obtain no clew to his where
.abouts, and after eighteen months
search they began to fear that he
must be dead. But about that time
a friend of his. an animal painter.
went to the Highlands Of Scotland
to make studies Of cattle, and one
day while he was SO engaged he hap
pened to get into conversation with
a drover, and, to his great surprise,
he recognized the man at once as the
missing parson.
why, you're So-andso!' he ez-
claimed.
lam 7, indeed?' the poor fellow
replied. We'll, am deeply grateful
to you for telling me, for l could
not remember who on earth l was or
where 1 had intended to 60 one day
when I set out On a journey, and
have been obliged to become a drover
in order to ear my living
HE was of course restored to his
friends Immediately. and with prop
er treatment he soon recovered and
is as right as I am at the present
moment. Now, it seems to me that
. your husbands is a very similar case,
and I have no doubt that it will end
as happily"
Gertrude put two guineas on the
table and left the house greatly re-
lieved. The doctors CHEEKY, conf
dent name had perhaps never be-
fore raised any poor patients spirits
higher than hers went up under the
Influence of the hone he held out TO