The herald., 1914-09-17
CASE OF JOHN CLEMENTS
BY FRED BURNS.

down t. months and then to weeks.
Those three weeks always remained.
and, till the end of his days, they re-
manned blank to him.
Patrolman Thomas had found him
| standing beside the river in a daZed
sort OF way. He had taken off his
! coat and evidently meant to plunge
in. He had even cut the initials from
his linen and destroyed all papers that
| might identify him. But at the rivers
bank that lapse of memory overlook
| him, so that he only stared stupdly
/ about him, unable to understand who
ne was or why he had gone there.
At the hospital they said that it was
| a case Of amnesia, due to some shock,
and that in time Clements would re-.
| cover his memory.
Gradually he did recover 1t. He re-
| membered that he was John Clements,
but not till number OF other details
had come back to him.
Nurse Marjorie Ethan was in
charge of him. He was paying pa
tient and had got back into touch with
his affairs. But nobody in Aylmer
knew much about his private affairs.
There is one man who knows all
about me-" said Clements, during the
third week of his stay in the hospital.
But l don't know who he is or where
he lives"
Miss Ethan was at first greatly in
terested in her strange case. Then a
strong friendship grew up between her
and her patient. Before he was dis
charged. cured as far as he was ever
likely to be, Clements asked Marjorie
to marry him.
She refused, and. when he pressed
her. she admitted that she loved him.
Then why?" he asked.
Because Of those three lost weeks"
she answered, turning her head away.
when you remember, dear-not till
then"
He understood her fears. He might
be a married man. He had no right
to claim her until his memory came
back to him.
So Clements went away, back to his
business. He kept in touch with Mar
jorie. II ever his memory came back
to him he was to claim her. That was
tacitly understood by both.
He found it easy to pick up the
thread Of his interests. Gradually the
old associations grew round him again.
But his memory remained a blank.
At the end of year he realized that
he would never remember. Then he
went back to Marjorie
Clements took her out to dinner,
and, that night, he asked her again to
be his wife.
Marjorie agreed. They were mar
ried the following afternoon and went
away on their honeymoon.
Clements learned many things dur
ing that period. His wife was alone
in the world. Her only sister had died
under tragic circumstances year be-
fore. She was unhappily married, and
a man had come into her life who
seemed everything to her. Marjorie
had tried to dissuade her sister-had
threatened to tell her husband of the
projected elopement. Then Caroline
had taken the bit between her teeth.
She had run away, and. on the way
TO meet her lover, the train had been
wrecked. She had been killed instant
ly. Since then Marjorie had seen moth
ing of her brother-in-law.
What was the mans name?" asked
John.
Marjorie did not know.
They returned from their honey.
moon and settled in Aylmer. Three
years passed. Two children had been
born to them. They were ideally hap
py, and, but for that period of blank
ness in his mind, John was a normal
man. He was highly esteemed in his
city and spoken of as the next mayor.
One day when John was away q
stranger called at the house Mar
jorie received him with an attempt at
warmth which hardly hid her real feel
ings. 1t was her brother-in-law.
He was no warmer than Marjorie.
Il have just learned the facts" he
said, "and thought would run down
and see your husband. / found his
letters in my late wife's drawer"
John Clements was the man who
had been the unwilling cause OF her
sisters death.
"Of course, ! have read about the
case" he said, but / guess he'll know
me all right when he sees me-"
Marjorie fought fearful battle dur
Ing those few minutes. Johns love
for her, his loyalty, showed her that
he was good man; but the thought
that he had been the cause OF her sis
ter's death, that he had made love to
the wife of another, was CALLING 10
her pride.
Roger" she said at last, you have
a right to meet my husband. Stay to
dinner and. II he remembers you, say
what you please. That Is your right"
Il guess he'll know me-" answered
the other, scowling.
1t seemed an eternity before John
Clements came up the garden and into
the house. At his approach Roger
sprang from his chair with clenched
fists, scowling at the other man.
John, this is my brother-in-law,"
said Marjorie.
John Clements advanced with out
stretched hand. 'T am happy to meet
you. sir" he said simply.