Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1921-02-17

whose imminent fall there could be no
escape.
She rose, bathed, dressed, break
tasted, all mechanically. PROPOSES
sion with that feeling of impending
disaster weighed more and more
heavily upon her mind as the day
aged. More and more strongly she
felt herself Incapable of coping with
the routine duties of It's course She
went to and fro like an automaton,
aware of one thing only: that danger
of some sort threatened Leonora, that
she was pewerless to avert it--who
could not even name it.
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 pitifuI APP
peal-FOsdick drew her into his con-
sultation 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
ton 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,
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 Fos-
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 d6?". she de-
manded in a caImer phase. II tell
yon, Philip, Iean't stand it; / can't go
on like this knowing she's In deadly
peril mot knowing what ito do, know
ing'she needsfme 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 n'}mel knows
and shares her sufferings and won't
can't he still -. Philip, won't
you help me"
His head described a slow sign of
regret. "Pm doing my best, Priscilla"
81 mean, hypnotism-"
NO"
.."You must, Philip, you must! Pm
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
SciOuSneSS, 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 I 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 d 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 a
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 a
| 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-
GUS tension. In her eyes a vague
smile formed.
"Drowsy?"
Her lips framed but did not utter
the word "no." 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 a
| bOundlpSS Snacp of inertia She had