New Britain herald., 1916-10-02
How pr. Petit Solved the Mystery of
 Grace Draper's Delirium.

] where the sick girl lay, apparently l raving in delirium, I called out to 1 him in horror
 "Oh! don't disturb that delirious, ! dying grill" I made an impetuous step forward 1 to try to stop him when Lillian caught l ! my arm and whirled me into a recess i of the alcOve. You unsuspecting little idiot" she | said, giving me a tender little shake , that robbed the words of their harsh i ress, "can't you see that that girl is shamming?" For a moment I could not compre- hend what she meant then the full truth burst upon me. If what Lillian said were true, if the girl were pre- tending delirium that she might utter words concerning Dicky's infatuation for her which would torture me- then it was more than probable, almost cer- tain, in fact that there was no word Of truth in her pretended delirious l nutterings.
 Dicky was not faithless to me, as 1 had feared during the tortured mo- | ments in which I had listened to the | girls rawlings.
 1 The joy of the sudden revelation 1 almost unnerved me- I believe I would nave SWOOnSQ ana Idllou udu not Lillian caught me.
 1 Listen," she said in my ear, pinch ing my arm almost cruelty to arouse
 me, '1isten to what Dr. Petit is say l irg, and yOull see that am right"
 My eyes followed hers to the bed | where Dr. Petit stood gazing down 1 upon the seemingly unconscious girl 1 and speaking in measured, merciless | fashion,
 1 'This won't do. my girl,' he was
 saying, and his tone and manner of
 address seemed in some subtle fashion
 to strip all semblance of dignity from
 the girl, and leave her simply a l "case'' of the doctors, of a type only 1 too familiar to him.
 'It won't do,' he repeated You
 are simply shamnling this delirium,
 and you are lessening your chances l for life every minute you persist in l it. I's sorry to be hard on you, but
 I'm going to give you an ultimatum ] right now. Either you will release 1 Mrs. Graham from her promise at l cnce and quit this nonsense, or I shall , call an officer, report the truth of this 1 occurrence, and you will be arrested
 not only upon a charge of attempted 1 suicide, but of attempted murder. | "Of course, you will then be re- moved to the jail hospital, where ] am afraid you may not enjoy the 1 skilful care you are getting now. l And, if you live, the after effects of
 these charges will be exceedingly un- ; pleasant for you.''
 My heart almost stopped beating as 1 I listened to the physicians relentless
 words.
 'sYou've Called the Turn.' Suppose Dr. Petit were mistaken 1 and the girl should be really delirious l after all. But just as I had reached l the point of torturing doubt, hardly to be borne the girl stopped her de- 1 lirious muttering, opened her eyes nd 1 looked steadily up at the physician. You devil." she said, at last, with quiet malignity, you've called the ] turn. I throw up my hands, T thought so." This was the phy- ] sician's only response. He stood
 quietly waiting while the girl gazed l steadily, unwinkingly at him.
 '"Tell me-" she said at last, coolly,
 ''am I going to die?"
 'I do not know" the physician re-
 turned, as coolly. You have slight l temperature, and I am afraid infec-
 ton has developed. But I can tell y l hour or two has not helped your | chances any. You must be perfectly
 quiet and obedient, conserve every bit
 of your strength if you wish to live" 1 How about that very chivalric 1 threat you made just now" the girl 1 retorted, sneeringly. 'If I live, are you going to have me arrested for
 this thing?''
 Not if you behave yourself and promise to make no more trouble," the
 physician replied gravely
 There was another long silence.
 The girl lay with eyes closed The | physician stood watching her keenly,
 Presently she opened her eyes again. Gall Mrs. Graham over here," she | said peremptori1y.
 What are you going to say to her?' the physician shot back.
 A Release and Prophecy.
 That's my business and hers,"
 Miss Draper returned, with a flash of
 her old spirit. If you want a re-
 lease from that promise you'd better
 let her come over here, otherwise I'll , hold her to it.
 Disregarding Lillian's clutch upon
 my arm I moved swiftly to the side | of the bed and looked down into the
 sick girls eyes, brilliant with fever.
 Did you wish to speak to me?"
 asked gently.
 Yes,' she said abrutly. T release
 you from your promise, and you are 1 free to believe or not what I have l said during my-de1irium.' ] She emphasized the last word with l a little mocking smile. The same l smile was on her lips as she added, l slowly, sneeringly: But you will never know, will you 1 Madgie dear, just how much of what I l said was false and how much true?" 1 Her eyes held mine a moment 1 lGnQar tha al iorn