The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1921-06-11
THE BLUE SHADOW
sy MARY WHITNEY.
eeeseseeee e eSe9gSe9g
1921. by Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate


never leave II. The thought Of sciehllf-
/ lie research fills me with the same
! horror that | felt when | saw Marie
4 living dead in the garden. q faint blue
| shadow on her forehead.
| was just out of college when
went TO work for DR.. Gaspard. From
the first he impressed me uncannlly.
as a person of too strong imagination.
/ Then. TOO, | thought that he was not
over careful In the handling Of ex-
pIoslyes. But no one dared remon.
strate except Marie, and she was too
| light-hearted and happy.
At least she was happy until Lord
Hackett threw her over for rich Sam
CIRCUITS widow shall never forget
that morning. saw her run down
The hill. his letter In her hand, and
4 fling open the door of the laboratory
4 without knocking, an act that was
strictly forbidden TO us both. In a
second heard spit, then roar and
/ could see the flash Of purple flame.
! The doctor was scarcely hurt at all.
but Marie was burned and the poison
4 Gus fumes had quenched forever the
/ light In her eyes
/ Ii seemed as If every part Of feeling
I In the doctor turned to something grim
/ and terrible. The next morning he
called me to the library and asked me
what | knew about the pineal gland.
He pointed TO the open dictionary and
babe me read aloud. In a voice that
trembled little | obeyed I'm man a
small conlcal. reddish gray body at
tached To the third ventriele Of the
brain. II has the structure Of an eye
with more or less distinct retina Or
lens. II Is evidently remnant of an
important sense organ. Its present
function Is unknown"
Bear this In mind" said the doctor
when | had finished. there Is no death.
only change Countless factors have
atrophied that gland. Now ] shall
play upon II by every stimulus to
awaken it,
ITO what endp" I asked weakly.
ITO give her an eye. to her and all
the world"
But there Is no place. no socket"
"One will FORM | can only mark the
ends. not the processes Of nature. All
| ask of you. Miss Robinson. is to at
lend to my supplies, file my notes and
TO keep your mouth shut. know that
you are capable of all three"
In he ba no
gan. Every morning led Marie TO
the laboratory, the doctor locked the
door and | walked outside. Sometimes
could hear strange gurglings and
means. but Marie declared that she did
not suffer much. After the treatment
she would sleep. And she would al
ways dream. At first II was OF tall
trees and lush grasses, then the thick
cts would be peopled with great mon
sters and flying reptiles. She would
awaken hungry and ask for chops. al
ways complaining that they were
overdone.
watched these changes with dis
may, but the doctor frowned grimly.
It's awakening" he said, "and with
Its stirring II brings TO her subcon-
scious mind the evolution OF the race"
One day Marie did not sleep as
usual. She kept murmuring thlckly
about the wind In the tree tops. The
doctor called to me to help a moment
with some apparatus. and when re-
turned she had disappeared. called
to the doctor and we ran out into the
garden. She had climbed TO the lower
limb of an old pear-tree and sat with
face uplifted as II drinking In the
beauty Of the leaves against the sky.
When Marie heard our steps she
grasped the trunk with both hands and
began to climb. 1t was a Louis Bond
tree, very straight and tall.
Come down, dearie," cried the doc
tor. 'come down to your daddy here"
Marie leaned toward us. The
branches had unloosened her long hair
and 1t was swaying gently.
Father" she said, ~ wonder II l
see the trees2 II almost seems as II
do"
perhaps so, dearest. Come down
and tell me about II. You're not afraid
Of your old daddy, are your"
I'm not afraid of anything but
snakes"
Just then the first breath Of the eve
ming breeze rustled the leaves of the
pear trees. 1t caught lock of Marie's
hair and whipped 1t across her face.
oh" she screamed. "a snake; / felt
him." She brushed frantically at her
face. lost her hold and fell at our
feet
Tenderly we carried her into the H.
brary and laid her on the couch.
pushed back her hair and, for the first
time, We saw faint, blue, oval shadow
on her forehead
And that is all the story Of Marie
Gaspard. The doctor went to France
and ! In a few months bought my
chicken farm. Sometimes, on moon
light nights. l see my pear trees
rustling In the breeze. Sometimes a
white misty figure bends toward me