The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1927-08-26

confidence in me, SIR"
Every good" said the doctor, "only
don't come up to the room with her.
Follow along later, on some errand or
other, and We'll call you in. Perhaps
We'll make little demonstration on
you in advance, just to give her conf
dence"
A look of decorous amusement ap-
peared c1 wilkins face
"That will be very interesting, I'm
sure, sir" he said. AS he bowed him
self away I could see that he was still
smiling.
Its curious" observed to the doc-N
tor. "We've seen that man daily
since we came here to The Meredith
to live, but I got an absolutely new
impression of him this evening. 1t
never occurred to me before, that
when he laid aside his professional
manner he might be thoroughly hui
man, kindly old chap, with as many
affections and concerns as any of us,
and with, perhaps, about the same
opinion of our. reality as we have al
ways had of his"
WED better get on" said the doc
tor, suiting the action to the word.
I'VE haven't any time to waste"
AS we walked over toward the ele-
vator Wilkins preceded us and rang
the bell for us, just as he always did.
I had it my tongues end to make
some reference to our engagement
with him for little later in the eve
ming, not that it was necessary, but
simply because it was more natural
to say, I'm half an hour, then" or
something of that sort, than merely
to nod and answer his good night.
think he must have perceived that in
tentiOn, certainly he checked it by
looking, just then, a little more wood
en- and professional than ever. un-
derstood when glanced over his
shoulder and saw that Ashton had just
come in. He was not looking our way
Whether he had made point of not
looking, do not know; but was
glad that had not blurted out, in
his hearing, any reference to the I'M
usual and highly unprofessional sort
of engagement that the doctor and
had with Wilkins.
"a rather remarkable man." said /,
as we stepped into the elevator.
The doctor nodded.
A few minutes later, in the doctors
spacious sitting room where we had
set up our instruments and now sat
waiting for the arrival of the subject
we meant to test by them, we heard
rap at the door.
mo timidity about that" observed
the doctor in whisper; "and no eff.
frontery, either. A plain, common.
sense, professional knock. Let her in,
will you, Phelps?"
1t was with a mounting excitement
that l crossed the room and laid my
hand on the knob, for there, on the
other side SOf this door, was one of
the elements Of our mystery. What
would she prove to be? Another in
nocent person, tangled by pure chance
In the spiders web of circumstance
which surrounded our mystery; or
would she turn out to be, herself, one
of the spinners of the web?
When I opened the door 1 got, in
simultaneously, very good view of
the girl, for the sitting-room was
brightly lighted and the little en-
trance hallway where she stood COM
paratively dark. And that first look
of mine brought disappointment,
there was no doubt of that. I had
not known exactly what had expect
ed Jane Perkins to be like, but some
thing different from this, certainly.
The whole look of her as she stood
there, an appearance so pervasive that
it baf11ed analysis, was of stolid stu.
spidity.
Her eyes were dull, her cheeks a
very dark red, so that as I looked at
her first / suspected perfectly reck-
less use of cosmetic. OF course the
standard compared her by was the
wild girl in the hospital, for, upon the
doctors theory of Harvey's testimony,
that wild girls profile had reminded
him forcibly of this English house.
maid. There was crude sort of re.
semblance between the two faces
the heavy brows and lashes, the black
hair and general contour of the fea-
lures. Indeed, the thing that occurred
to me as 1 stood there was the ridicu-
lous futility of written descriptions
of faces, when the same description
would include two people whose gen.
eral air and appearance We're so dia.
metrically different.
1 found it impossible to describe the
wildness and curious unearthly dis.
tinction of that other face; found
it as difficult to analyze the tameness.
the commonplace banality of this one.
And yet, seen in silhouette, they
might look good deal alike.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
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