|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 32
"A baby can make a deal of mess," I remarked, hurriedly collecting
these scraps and making a motion of throwing them into the waste-
paper basket, but hiding them in my blouse instead.
"The baby! Oh, the baby never did that. She's too young."
"Oh, I didn't know. I haven't seen much of the child though I
heard her cry once in the nursery. How old is she?"
"Twenty months and such a darling! You never saw such curls or
such eyes. Why, look at this!"
"What?" I demanded, hurrying to the closet, where Ellen stood
bending over something invisible to me. "Oh, nothing," she
answered, coming quickly out. But in another moment, her tongue
getting the better of her discretion, she blurted out: "Do you
suppose Mrs. Packard had any idea of going with the mayor? Her bag
is in there almost packed. I was wondering where all her toilet
articles were. That accounts--" Stopping, she cast a glance
around the room, ending with a shake of the head and a shrug.
"She needn't have pulled out all her things," she sharply
complained. "Certain, she is a mysterious lady;--as queer as she
is kind."
CHAPTER X
A GLIMMER OF THE TRUTH
This was a sentiment I could thoroughly indorse. Mrs. Packard was
certainly an enigma to me. Leaving Ellen to finish her work, I
went upstairs to my own room, and, taking out the scraps of paper
I had so carefully collected, spread them out before me on the lid
of the desk.
They were absolutely unintelligible to me--marks and nothing more.
Useless to waste time over such unmeaning scrawls when I had other
and more tangible subjects to consider. But I should not destroy
them. There might come a time when I should be glad to give them
the attention which my present excitement forbade. Putting them
back in my desk, I settled myself into a serious contemplation of
the one fact which seemed to give a partial if not wholly
satisfactory explanation of Mrs. Packard's peculiar conduct during
the last two weeks--her belief that she had been visited by a
specter of an unholy, threatening aspect.
That it was a belief and nothing more seemed sufficiently clear to
me in the cold-blooded analysis to which I now subjected the whole
matter.
Phantoms have no place in the economy of nature. That Mrs. Packard
thought herself the victim of one was simply a proof of how deeply,
though perhaps unconsciously, she had been affected by the
traditions of the house. Such sensitiveness in a mind naturally
firm and uncommonly well poised, called for attention. Yet a
physician had asserted that he could do nothing for her. Granting
that he was mistaken, would an interference of so direct and
unmistakable a character be wise in the present highly strung
condition of her nerves? I doubted it. It would show too plainly
the light in which we regarded her. I dared not undertake the
responsibility of such a course in Mayor Packard's absence. Some
other way must be found to quiet her apprehensions and bring her
into harmony again with her surroundings. I knew of only one
course. If the influence of the house had brought on this
hallucination, then the influence of the house must be destroyed.
She must be made to see that, despite its unfortunate reputation,
no specter had ever visited it; that some purely natural cause was
at the bottom of the various manifestations which had successively
driven away all previous tenants.
Could I hope to effect this? It was an undertaking of no small
moment. Had I the necessary judgment? I doubted it, but my
ambition was roused. While Mr. Steele was devoting himself to the
discovery of Mayor and Mrs. Packard's political enemy, I would
essay the more difficult task of penetrating the mystery
threatening their domestic peace. I could but fail; a few
inquiries would assure me of the folly or the wisdom of my course.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|