Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1921-04-23

escape.
She rose. bathed. dressed, break
tasted. all mechanically. PROPOSES
sion with that feeling of impendin,
disaster weighed more and NOR,
heavily upon her mind as the da!
aged. More and more strongly sh.
felt herself incapable of coping witt
the routine duties Of its course. Sh,
went TO and fro like an automaton
aware of one thing only: that danger
of some sort threatened Leonora, thai
she was powerless to avert it--wht
could not even name 1t.
What otherwise had held place Of
first Importance n her consideration
her encounter with Harry Chilvers OF
the day before and her appointment
to meet him at the Plaza today for
tea, was displaced, relegated to a
status of least consequence, then for.
gotten altogether.
At four o'clock, indeed, she was
pacing up and down the waiting room
Of DR.. Philip Fosdick, digging nails
into her palms and teeth into her I'M
| derlip In the endeavor to keep from
giving away to hysteria.
One glance at her face of suffering,
one look into those eyes of pitiful ap-
peal--Fosdick drew her into his con-
sutation ROOM There she collapsed
utterly, going with childlike trust into
his arms, hiding her face in his Shout
der, shaken by that tempest of emo
tion against which her last, slight
guard had been beaten down upon his
arrival.
She told her story eagerly, but In
fragments only; she was powerless
long to follow any one train Of
thought because, invariably, when she
seemed on the very verge Of losing
herself In the interest of narration, a
chill breath of fear would numb her
CONFIDENCE, her eyes would film with
daze, her voice break in the middle of
a sentence, her relaxing grasp on Eos
dicks hand tighten convulsively. her
thoughts falter into momentary In
conference.
Again and again he needed to exert
himself to the utmost In order to re-
store the mean balance of her self
command. Only the tenderness and
solicitude of the lover allied with the
knowledge. the patience, the compass
sion of the physician served.
"But what am to do?" she de-
manded in calmer phase. II tell
you, Philip, can't stand it; | can't go
on like this knowing she's In deadly
peril not knowing what to do, know
ing she needs me, not knowing how to
get to her, to help her 1t isn't
imagination, Philip--it's so. | know
it's so. that she's in danger, threat
ened afraid; something in me knows
and shares her sHfferings and won't
cant be still Philip, won't
you help me?"
His head described a slow sign of
regret. I'm doing my best, Priscilla"
Il mean, hypnotism--"
"No-"
"You must, Philip, you must I'm
not afraid of being hypnotized by you
You've explained everything so cleay
ly, know it's nothing but the utiliza-
ton of natural means to remove the
barrier between the two states of con-
seriousness, so that the imprisoned sub
conscious can find expression. Philip
You won't refuse me this once? You
see what this thing is doing to me, you
know I'll go mad If | don't find re-
lief"
He gave a gesture Of surrender, and
got up from his chair.
'As you WILL" he said. Perhaps,
after all, you know best"
He arranged pillows at the head of
a couch. ''Lie down here-rest-re-
lax. Remember that, as you've just
declared. you've got nothing to fear
from the hypnotic trance, something
as natural as sleep--even more nat
ural, If what believe of it is true"
I'm not in the least afraid"
With readiness and docility which
he thought touching, she suffered Fos-
dick to make her comfortable upon
the couch. He was insistent upon an
attitude of complete relaxation,
supine, the head barely elevated by
thin down pillow, the ankles together
but not crossed, the hands open at
either side. Further, he babe her
loosen her locked teeth. so that they
no longer touched. And drawing
chair close to the head of the couch,
he sat down and with his own hands
smoothed out the strained, contracted
muscles round her eyes and mouth
and brows.
His touch, his tone, his presence,
were all soothing. Already she was
pleasantly aware Of slackening nerv-
ogs tension. In her eyes a vague
smile formed.
'Drowsy?"
Her lips framed but did not utter
the word mo She was not in the
least sleepy, but deliciously at ease.
The weight of his hand on her fore
head was like an imponderable force
Of celebrating influence. Conscious.
ness was slowly retreating into
boundless space OF inertia. She had
no desire TO ~ strain It D..
She did nol know that her eyes had
closed of thv,r own accord, and spent
q moment La idle speculation concern.