The Washington times., 1931-02-24
CHAPTER 10

Lou was shaking hands with
Doctor Mathews, a stocky.
elderly man with wise, deep
set eyes, a pleasant voice and
q leonine head capped with a
shock of curly gray hair.
This is Miss Thurston,"
Margaret Lorrimer told him,
"and she has just promised
me she will try to carry out her
part of your experiment"
DR.. Mathews looked at Mary
Lou for a long, intent moment.
Then he nodded, quite gravely,
as if he were answering a ques-
ton he had silently propounded
to himself. Yes, this girl would
do. Fortunate, thought DR..
Mathews, that she was not Of
a different type =.
They sat down, Mary Lou
keyed up to meet any emer-
gency now that her decision
had been made, Mrs. Lorrimer
anxious, hopeful and uncer-
tain, by turns, and the physi-
clan as serene and matter of
fact as if he spent half his
time aiding, abetting and even
suggesting receptions on large
and unusual scale.
THE boys asleep" he began.
He could not think of TraverS
Lorrimer as a grown man, hav-
ing known him from childhood,
seen him through infantile dis
eases, broken limbs, bruised
fingers, and attended him for
all these years since his shat
tered return from the war.
The Future Talk
when he wakes up I want
to have a talk with him." he
went on. 81 have to make some
calls presently but I'll be back.
Now. Miss Thurston," he smiled
at her very kindly, almost
paternally, "are you sure you
understand the situation? Mr..
Lorrimer is a perfectly sane
and organically healthy man.
But his war experiences have
resulted in a. mental depres-
sion which has affected his nor
mally good health. He has no
interest in anything, not even
In life itself. He does nothing
properly. neither eats nor sleeps
nor exercises as he should. He
simply drags himself about,
not caring, avoiding people,
hStleSS, hopeless. Mrs. Lor-imer
has told you that while in Lon
don,> on leave, he fell in love
with a girl and believes that
he married her. We do not be-
Ieve that-that marriage part!
AS Mrs. Lorrimer's agents
have found no records. Nor
has she been able to find the
girl herself.
1T so happens that you must
bear a strong resemblance to
Miss Hartford. It may not be,
OF course, a caSe-let us say, of
an actual double. But a good
many years have passed since
Travers saw this girl, and we
understand their acquaintance
and courtShip was of brief du-
ration. His mental picture of
her must differ from the actual
girl he knew, altered by time,
You know yourself how prob
able that is. He possesses no
photograph or snapshot of her,
the only one he had, having
been lost. Of course, today.
she must differ very greatly
from the girl Travers knew, and
perhaps you do not resemble
her at all. as she is now, if she
Is alive. But TraverS does not
realize the lapse of years in re-
lation, that is, to her appear
ance. He only knows-or,
rather thinks-that he girl he
loved has come back to him.
just as he remembered her. He
is, of course, deeply disturbed
by what he felt was your Gu
rious attitude toward him. I
feel, however, and so does Mrs.
Lorrimer, that your companion
ship and healthy outlook on
hfe will do much to bring him
back to himself. Once he is
strong again, once he interests
himself in outside matters, once
ne becomes a normal, perfectly
lit man. the depression gone
and his vitality returned, he
will have a very different out
look on life. He can then be
told of this deception we shall
have practiced on him. And it
may be that as he returns to
norfnalcy he may begin to ask