Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-04-14

IL tihC luC WlltkuS tuut
people produce, believing themselves
under the influence of disembodied
spirits. Not necessarily even under
the hypnotic influence; their attention
is elsewhere, they may be talking or
reading on utterly lmmaterial subjects,
while their hand, without their knowl-
edge, writes and goes on writing-just
so you went on talking"
81 don't understand. It's---it's in
comprehensive. Not that doubt
what saw, there in the forest. :"
Her eyes filed again, tears ran down
her cheeks. She averted her face.
"Oh. the pity of it," she repeated.
"Just when life seemed about to COM
pensate her for all she had never
had :"
Don't let go like this. ella. Re
member. nothing Is certain"
''No-you are wrong. saw her, !
know"
"You think So"
"Why do you persist In saying that?
Have my dreams ever proved ground
leSs?"
"We don't know, yet; perhaps some
of them were. But this wasn't one of
what you call your dreams; 1t was a
vision. possibly Authorization. in hyp-
motto trance. 1t may have been a true
phenomenon of telesthetic communi-
cation; assuming that Leonora was
really dead. your spirit may have
found some means, by some extraor-
binary effort, to surmount the obsta-
cles. whose very nature is unknown
to us. that stand between the living
and the dead. prohibiting communion
ton :. But we don't know"
He argued earnestly. with intention.
seeing he had already engaged her
interest to such extent that she was
forgetting to grieve.
son the other han'l. we do know
it's easy to fool ourselves. Remember
you have gone about all day fretted
by feeling that something was wrong
with Leonora. some danger threatened
her happiness. You passed into the
hypnotic trance already prepared to
see the worst. You saw It. But the
question remains unanswered, and for
the time being unanswerable: Did you
see truly, or did you see fantasy
conjured up by your own Imagination
Influenced by fear?"
IF could only think that. Phillip
"Why not try?"
But he was arguing against his own
conviction; his argument lacked con-
viction. Her dropping head described
movement of rejection.
"NO." she said. 1.-THE trouble is
! know -. But the mystery and the
horror of such an end Philip
who could have killed herr"
III she is dead. as you think-need
we accuse anybody of murder? II
might have been suicide"
"Oh. no." she interrupted almost
scornfully-"never! Why should she
do such a thing? She was so happy
she loved Mario. he loved her de
votedly."
''Or an accident, perhaps :"
She seemed to try to adopt this
theory. she pondered it at length. but
in the end could not accept 1t.
No" she declared; sit was neither
suicide nor accident. 1t was what she
had oeen afraid Of all along, death by
violence
~. DEFIANCE.
Late In the evening the telephone
interrupted the supervision Of her
packing. with which Prisclna was en-.
deavoring to divert her weary thoughts
and with no grea: success.
Her maid being busy at the moment.
Priscilla answered in person. and suf-
Tered slight shock when she heard
The studied accent of Mr. Harry Chill
vtrs-so completely had she forgotten
the man. Mr.. Chilvers chirped
briskly:
"oh. hello. Nora This Is Harry.
What happened to you this afternoon :?
Fcrget our date for tea? Or did some.
ifing get in your way?"
Quite evidently Mr.. Chilvers wa
~ Np"'Ch W Dt a SDDil ltliOW anu over
look that slight. But Priscilla replied
with an apathy nothing short of Gym
ical:
Miss Maine is not at home"
An oath of resentful incredulity was
cut in two as she clicked the receiver
into its hook; but the picture suggest
ed. of the Nut raging at mute and
Unconditional telephone failed to excite
even the ghost Of her smile.
The death of Leonora had bereft the
man of all claim upon her considera
ton. rendering him hopelessiy incom
petent for harm. He had become moth
ing to her, less than nothing. The
incident served merely to remind her
that she had neglected to tell Fosdick
about the fellow. his effrontery. the
lnsolence Of his ill-veiled threats.
Now the bitterest melancholy op.
pressed her. desolatlon indescrib-
able; the vision of the pool was con
slant in her Imagination, obscuring
even material objects that passed I'M