The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1915-09-24

command my services. sir-pray com
mand my services"
"Mr. Candy. you sent me a message
by Gabriel B~ctteredge''-
He left off picking his fingers and
suddenly frightened up.
Eyes, yes, yes." he exclaimed eager
ly. 'That's it. sent you a m~essage!!"
And Bettcredge duly communicated
1t by letter." l went en-. You had
something to say to me the next time
l was in your ncighborhood. Well,
Mr.. Candy, here l am"
Here you are!" echoed the doctor.
"And Betteredge was quite right. l
had something to say to you. That
was my message"
He dropped into silence and began
picking at his fingers. Recollecting
what l had heard from Betteredge
about the effect Of the fever on his
memory, | went on with the
ton in the hope that l might help him
at starting.
ITS a long time since we met" l
said. w last saw each other at the
last birthday dinner my Door aunt was
ever to give"
"Ah, the dinner, the dinner at Lady
~Verinder's.." he exclaimed eagerly. II
have got something to say to YOU about
that"
His eyes looked at me with he pain
full expression of inquiry, so wistful,
so vacant, so miserably helpless to see.
lie was evidently trying hard, and try
ing In vain, to recover the lost recol-
lection. ut was a very pleasant din
ner,' he burst out suddenly, with an
air of saying exactly what he had
wanted to say. "a very pleasant din
ner. Mr.. Blake, wasn't it:' He nod
ded and smiled and appeared to think,
Door fellow, that he had succeeded n
%concealing the total failure of his mem
DRY by a we'll timed exertion Of his
own presence Of mind.
It was SO distressing that l at once
rose to take leave. AS we shook hands
Mr.. Candy reverted to the birthday
festival of his own accord.
~ am glad we have met again." be
said. II had 1t on my mind-I really
had 1t on my mind, Mr.. Blake, to speak
to you-about the dinner at Lady We
rlnders, % know. A pleasant din
ner-really a pleasant dinner, now,
wasn't it,"
On repeating the phrase he seemed
to feel hardly as certain of having pre-
vented me from suspecting his lapse
of memory as he had felt on the first
occasion. The wistful look clouded
his face again, and, after apparently
designing to accompany me to the
street door, he suddenly changed his
mind, rang the bell for the servant
and remained in the drawing room.
| went slowly down the doctors
stairs, feeling that he really had some
thing to say which it was vitality i'm
portant to me to hear and that he was
incapable Of saying it.
Just as I had reached the bottom Of
the stairs n had turned a corner on
my way to the outer hall a door open
ed softly somewhere on the ground
floor of the house. and a gentle voice
said behind me:
II am afraid, sir, you find Mr.. Candy
sadly changed"
turned round and found myself face
to face with Ezra Jennings.
care You walking my way, Mr.. Jen-
nings"' said. observing that he held
his hat in his hand. 81 am going to
call on my aunt Mrs. Ablewhite."
We left the house together.
"Iudging by the change l see in
him." I began. "Mr. Candy's illness
must have beer far more serious than
I had supposed"
at is almost a miracle" said Ezra
Jennings. "that he lived through it,"
els his memory never any better than
I have found it today: He has been
trying to speak to me-
"Of something which happened be-
fore he was taken ill.," asked the as
sistant. observing that I hesitated.
~ believe have a strong interest"
I said, Gin tracing the lost remem-
brance which Mr.. Candy was unable
to recall. May I ask whether you can
suggest to me any method by which l
might assist his memory?'
Ezra Jennings looked at ME, with a
sudden flash of interest in his dreamy
brown eyes.
"Mr. Candy's memory is beyond the
reach Of assistance" he said. 81 have
tried to help it often enough since his
recovery to be able to speak positively
on that point. 1t has often occurred
to me in the course of my medical
practice to doubt whether we can JUS
tifiably infer in cases of delirium that
the loss of the faculty Of speaking con-
ncctedly implies of necessity the loss
Of the faculty of thinking connectedly
as well. Poor Mr.. Candy's illness gave
me an opportunity of putting this
doubt to the test. I understand the art
Of writing in shorthand. and was
able to take down the patients wan
behring's exactly as they fell from his