The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-05-09
CHAPTER III.
One Possessed.

e., V. c., was the first really emf
nent person to consult the crime
doctor by regular appointment in
the proper hours. Quite apart
from the feat of arms which had
earned him the most coveted of
all distinctions, the gigantic gem
eral, deep-chested and erect, viriie
in every silver-woven hair of his
upright head. filled the tiny stage
in Welbeck st. and dwarfed its
antique properties, as no being
had done before. And yet his
voice was tender and even trem-
ulous with the pathetic presage
of a heart-break under all.
Doctor Dollar" he began at
once, Il have come to see you
about the most tragic secret that
a man can have. | would shoot
myself for saying what | have to
say, did | not know that pa
TENTS confidence is sacred to any
member of your profession--per-
haps especially to an alienist"
Il hope we are all alike as to
that returned Dollar, gently. He
was used to these sad openings.
Il ought not to have said it;
but 1t hardly is my secret, that's
why l feel such cur" exclaimed
the general, taking his handker-
chief to fine forehead and re-
markably fresh complexion, as if
to wipe away its noble flush.
Your patient, | devoutly hope,
will be my poor wife, who really
seems to me to be almost losing
her reason" but with that the
husband quite lost his voice.
Perhaps we can find 1t for
her." said Dollar, despising the
part professional optimism that
told almost like a shot. 1T is a
thing more often mislaid than
really lost"
And the last of the others
weakness was finally overcome. A
few weighty questions, lightly
asked and simply answered, and
he was master of a robust ad-
dress, In which an occasional i'm
pediment only did further credit
to his delicacy.
mo. l should say IL was en-
tirely a development of the last
few months" declared the gen.
eral emphatically. There was
nothing of the kind in our 20-odd
years of India, nor yet in the
first year after l retired. All
this-this trouble has come since
| bought my house in the pine
country. It's called Valsugana,
as you see O. my card; but it
wasn't before we went there. We
gave 1t the name because it struck
us as extraordinary like the Aus
trian Tyrol, where-well, of
which we had happy memories,
Doctor Dollar"
His blue eyes WINGED as they
flew through the open French
window, up the next precipice of
bricks and mortar, to the beetling
skyline Of other roofs, all little
softened in the faint haze of ap-
preaching heat. 1t cost him a
palpable effort to bring them
back to the little dark consulting
room, with its cool slabs of aged
oak and the summer fernery that
hid the hearth.
TITS good of you to let me take
my time, doctor, but yours is too
valuable to waste. All l meant
was to give you an idea of our
surroundings, as / know they are
held to count in such cases. We
are embedded in pines and frs.
Some people find trees depress-
ing, but after India they were
just what we wanted, and even
now my wife won't let me cut
down one of them. Yet depres-
sion is no name for her state of
mind; it's nearer melancholy
madness, and latterly she has be-
come subject to-to decisions
which are influencing her whole
character and actions in the most
alarming way.
eve are finding it difficult, for
the first time in our lives, to keep
servants; even her own nephew,
who has come to live with us, only
stands 1t for my sake, poor boy!
As for my nerves-well, thank
Heaven, | used to think l hadn't
got any when / was in the serv-
ice; but it's a little hard to be-
to be as we are-at our time of
life!" His hot face famed.
What am l saying? It's thou
sand times harder on her! She
had been looking forward to these
days for years."
Dollar wanted to wiring one of
the great brown, restless hands.
Might he ask the nature of the
decisions? e\
Tie general cried: I'D give ten
years of my. life II I could tell
you!"
You can tell me what form
they take?"
81 must, of course; it is what
came for, after ALL" the general
muttered. He raised his head
and his voice together. We'll,
for one thing she's got herself
ferocious bulldog and a revolver"
Dollar did not move a Doctors
muscle. 81 suppose there must
be a dog in the country, especial
ly where there are no children.
And if-you must have a dog, you
can't do better than bulldog.
Is there any reason for the re-
volver? Some people think IL an
other necessity of the country"