The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1933-09-26
Chapter Eight
! STILL. LOST !.

COMETHING began to- roar In
y Jim's ears. He felt himself slip
ping and fell back against the pill
lows. The room went round. He
heard the women's voices as you
hear voices in the roar of heavy
traffic. They came and went, and
they meant nothing. Actually he had
done no more than lean back and
close his eyes.
Min Williams said. ooh, he's
fainted!"
Nesta took her by the shoulders
with a quick, run along and don't
talk nonsense!"
After that the door was shut.
Nesta stood waiting with her back
against it, and in moment he was
looking at her. His eyes were of so
dark a grey as to seem black. His
brows frowned above them, making
the shadow deeper. He went on
speaking as if there had been no in
terruption.
when were we married."
ION the twenty-fifth of July
"Of what year,"
"This year,"
"This is-what month";!
August"
"What date?"
1.-THE thirteenth"
1--WE were married-here?"
mo in London" She crossed the
.oom, opened a drawer, and came
10 him with a paper in her hand.
There's the certificate"
A voice in his mind said quickly,
"She had 1t ready" 1t was like what
stage directions call voice off. 1t
didn't seem to have anything to do
with him, but he remembered it
afterwards. At, the time, he was
looking at the certificate, which set
forth that James Riddell had mar
ried Nesta Williams at registry
office in Kensington on the 25th of
July, 1881.
Nesta put out her hand to take the
paper back. The hand shook, and all
at once it came to him that. whether
he liked her or not. twas hard lines
on her. He didn't like her, but it
was damned hard lines. Her hand
shook. There was enough to make 1t
shake. ,4ss
He said In a constrained voice,
II don't know what to say can't
remember"
THERE was no more talk that day.
l 1t was Min who brought him his
meals, and Min was much too scared
to talk. She left the door wide open,
put down tffe tray. and was gone.
He guessed she thought Of man
who had forgotten his name and his
wife as we'll over the border line
of insanity. "a g
Presently she would come back
with a quick glance over her shout
der, pick up the tray. and hurry
from the room. He could almost
hear her breath of relief A. the door
swung to. Nesta never came near
him. i@F ta1 at2 l- SssA ~
* He lay in the darkened room and
wrestled with the thing that had
happened to him. Presently the
sheer blank horror passed. He
wasn't mad. His head ached, but he
could order and control his thoughts
in a perfectly normal manner. He
couldrepeat the multiplication table
and the capitals Of all the countries
in Europe.
He knew all the ordinary things
which don't need thinking about,
but he didn't know anything at all
about himself. The minute he be-
gan to think about himself the fog
came up and choked his mind, and,
with the fog, the horrible panic
sense of being lost in empty space.
He forced thought back to the
things he knew. He had had .
knock on the head. His memory
would como back all Fightsif ne
would let 1t alone. That was it
he'd got to let 1t alone-keep HIM
self quiet, eat, sleep, say the multi
plication table. conjugate French
verbs. count sheep jumping over q
hedge. q e "
4 The sun went behind a elond, the
room darkened. Presently he did
sleep. and, sleeping, heard again
that voice which be took to be his
own. Echoing 1t, he muttered and
,cried OUT -ssa- -. - ~,
Min ran half way M the stairs