The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1932-12-09
II know
"You do? Did he tell your


cast with one of my shoes"
what? Good heayens-you must
have dreamed that"
mo, didn't dream it. There was
nobody but Olga, the maid, in the
house when Wally got there. Olga
told Wally I'd be home in a few min
utes and showed him into the living
room. When she got back to the
kitchen she thought she heard some
body upstairs. She slipped up the
back way and saw Wally. He was in
my room and had one Of my shoes in
one hand, and in the other white
thing that looked like part of shoe.
She told me after he'd gone, and then
/ knew"
you'll have to make 1t palmer. My
old head sisn't functioning very well,
just now. What did you known"
ut all came to me like dim recol-
lection of bad dream. seemed to
see myself kneeling before your safe
and opening it and taking something
from it. Don't you remember how you
once showed me how to work the COM
bination"
"But, Betty! That's simply impos-
sible You couldn't have remembered
the combination"
mo; I'd forgotten it almost as soon
as you showed me, and don't remem-
Der it now. But don't the psychologists
tell us that the subconscious mind
never forgets anything?"
you're getting in too deep for me
now. But it's all perfectly ridiculous,
anyway. You wouldn't do such a thing
as that!"
"Of course wouldn't-not willing
ly. But can't you imagine me doing 1t
unwillingly?"
"Now
"Then I'll have to tell you something
thought I'd never tell anyone. You
know Bert Candy drove me to the
theater that night, don't youT"
Eyes,
"After the play, he took me to PoZ-
zoni's for supper. was awfully tired,
and before the supper was over l be-
gan to get so sleepy that could hard.
~ hold my eyes open. When we left
the restaurant can just remember
Bert's helping me into his car; and
after that I can't remember anything
until I seemed to come awake as he
was helping me out at our front door,"
"D-n hint" gritted Lands out of
full heart. "If they ever let him out of
jail I'm going to kill him! Did-did he
hypnotic you?"
II haven't wanted to believe 1t; it's
too horrible. But I'm afraid it's true,
Owen. At first. thought I'd just
dropped off for a few minutes while he
was driving me home. Then what
Olga told me about Wally and my
shoes scared me, though didn't know
then that your safe had been bur-
glarized, or that anything had gone
wrong. But when | went to my room
that night and looked at the clock. I
knew we hadn't come straight home
from Pozzoni's. 1t made me furious to
think that anybody had the power to
turn me into a puppet-a plaything
That is why didn't object when Bert
invited us to drive out here with him.
l meant to make him tell me what he'd
done to me-or what he'd made me do"
"But he didn't tell you, did he?"
you'd know he wouldn't. Every
time / asked him about that drive
home. he'd laugh and say that went
to sleep. and that he just drove around
town for a while to let me have my
nap out. Since we've been in Brew
ster I've felt that he was trying it
again-trying to get the control,
mean. l could feel his will pushing
hard against mine, and now know
why. He was afraid l might re-
member"
Lands was silent for little time
after she stopped. Then he said, "rm
pretty badly up in the air, Betty. You
see, I've been thinking, all along
with everybody else-that you were in
love with Candy. was sure of 1t.
Now you've left me sort of gaping.
But I'm awfully glad, you know
for Wally's sake"
"For Wally's sake?" she said, with
the quaint little grimace that had al
ways made him want to kiss her. Then
she laughed. II wonder if there ever
was another man so maddeningly, so
exasperatingly-oh, can't find words
for it Have got to tell you right
out plain that there has never been
anybody but you. just you, always,
you dear, dense, absent-minded, self
forgetting dreamer? Haven't you
known thatT
my Cd" he breathed. slave
been that stupid and blind, Betty?
But you know. don't you. that I've
always loved you. and that haven't
told you so only because wanted to
be able--I mean, l was waiting until
could offer you something more than
my love and a bare living. And I
haven't any more than these to offer
you now. for therell be no more ex-
periments with things like the black
box. And when Candy butted in I
thought I'd lost you"