A GIRL'S RAVINGS
Raymond Case passed a sleepless night watching over Margaret. The
doctor called once more, as he had agreed, and left another soothing
powder, which the nurse administered with difficulty. She shook her
head when she came out of the sick room.
"What do you think?" questioned the young man pleadingly.
"To tell the truth, it looks like a bad case to me, Mr. Case," was the
reply. "I may be mistaken, but I've had a pretty large hospital
experience. She doesn't seem to respond to treatment as she should."
"Don't you think I ought to call in a specialist?"
Martha Sampson shrugged her shoulders. "That is for you to say. It
wouldn't be proper for me to say anything against Doctor Bird."
"I'll send for a specialist at once," said Raymond, and hurried off to
the nearest telephone station. He had some difficulty in getting the
proper connection with New York, and then had to hold the wire until
the specialist could be roused up. The expert's fee was large, but
once guaranteed, he promised to come by the first train.
"He'll be here by seven o'clock," said the young man, on returning to
the house.
"Will you let Doctor Bird know?"
"Yes, as soon as the specialist gets here. I want to be sure of my new
man first."
It was six o'clock when Margaret roused up once more. Raymond was
dozing in an armchair, the nurse having retired to get a short sleep.
The young man was instantly at the sufferer's side.
All the color had left Margaret's face and she was deathly pale. Her
eyes were as bright as stars and had a look in them that Raymond had
never before seen.
"Are you better, Margaret?" he asked softly.
"I--I don't know," she answered slowly. "I--I feel very strange all
over me."
"Perhaps you had better go to sleep again."
"No, I don't want to sleep any more, Raymond. I want to know
something."
"What is it, dear?"
"Will they make me go to the funerals?" Her face began to show signs
of worriment.
"You'll not have to go if you don't wish to," he answered, and gave a
slight shiver in spite of himself, for the question was such an
unexpected one.
"I can't go--I can't look at them! And then the crowd would stare so!
Oh, Raymond, the crowd is the worst of all! Hundreds of eyes boring
one through and through! I can't stand that!"
"You'll not have to stand that, Margaret. But go to sleep, do! It
will do you a world of good," and he smoothed down her hair fondly.
"No, I've slept enough--I want to talk. Oh, I am not afraid to talk
now," she added, sitting up. "I thought it all out while I was
sleeping. Isn't it funny that one can think a thing out in one's
sleep? And it's so very clear now--as clear as crystal--and it was so
dark and muddled before. Will they give me a trial?"
He started in spite of himself. "Please don't think of that now,
Margaret, I beg of you. Lie down and try to sleep. I have sent for
another doctor, a specialist. He will be here soon."
"A specialist? How can he help me? You hired that Mr. Adam Adams but
he has deserted me. But then--but then--he must have learned the
truth!" She gave a sob and buried her face in her hands. "Yes, he
must have learned the truth!"
"Margaret, do keep quiet, please!" he pleaded. "You need rest, you
must have rest."
"No, I want to talk, to tell you something, Raymond. I--I want you to
go away."
"Away? Oh, Margaret!"
"Yes, away--you mustn't come near me any more. You are innocent and it
isn't right that you should suffer with me. You must go away and
forget me."
"I'll never do that. You mustn't even dream of such a thing. We are
going to get you well, and we are going to prove your innocence to the
world."
"My innocence? Oh, Raymond, don't speak so--it cuts me like a knife!"
"But I mean it," he said firmly.
"Yes, yes, I know--you are so good-hearted, so true! But haven't I
told you? Must I go over it again? The ring, the blood--"
"Margaret!"
"And that note, and the quarrels, and all. Didn't they prove that I
was guilty? Yes, they proved it, and I must--must-- Will they hang
me or electrocute me? I wonder how it feels to be hung or
electrocuted?" She gave a hollow, bitter laugh. "I'll soon know, I
suppose!" And then she fell back on her pillow exhausted.
The nurse had been aroused by the talking and stood in the doorway.
She gazed questioningly at the young man.
"Did you wake her up?"
"No, she roused up and insisted upon talking."
"She ought to be kept quiet. I'll give her another powder."
"Had you not better wait until the specialist arrives?"
"Well, we can do that--if he isn't delayed too long."
After that the time dragged heavily. Just before train time Raymond
took a coach to the depot and there met the specialist and told his
story as the pair were driven rapidly to the house.
"It is a purely nervous shock, undoubtedly," said the specialist. "I
will first find out from the nurse what the other doctor has given her."
He was soon in consultation with Martha Sampson. In the midst of this
Doctor Bird arrived. The local physician was willing enough to
transfer the case to new hands.
"I am of the opinion that she is guilty," he said in private to the
specialist. "Mr. Case, of course, thinks differently. You can figure
it out to suit yourself," and he told exactly what he had done and then
went away, not to return.
Doctor Fanning watched at the sufferer's side for over an hour, before
Margaret roused up again. The girl was very weak and spoke
disconnectedly, but always in the same strain. She went over the scene
at the inquest several times, and spoke of the blood on the engagement
ring, as if that was the crown of her misfortunes. Then she sat up
suddenly and looked at the new doctor.
"Are you the judge?" she demanded. "If you are I will tell you all. I
am guilty--they proved it! I am guilty! guilty! guilty!" she repeated
the words over and over again, until she fell back on the pillow as
before. Then she became delirious and it took both the nurse and
Raymond to hold her. The doctor speedily opened up his case of
medicines and gave her a hypodermic injection in the forearm. Then he
made an examination of the patient, lasting some time.
"I will be plain with you, Mr. Case," he said, drawing the young man to
another room. "This is a serious matter--a very serious matter indeed.
I believe you think the young lady innocent of the crime of which she
is accused?"
"I am willing to stake my life on it. She is raving now, that is all."
"Um!" The specialist nodded slowly and thoughtfully. "Well then, we
can only hope for the best. I had better stay with her, at least
to-day and to-morrow--there may be another turn to her condition
shortly."
"Do your best, doctor. I am willing to foot the bill, no matter what
it is."
"If I was certain she was innocent--"
"I am certain of it."
"You have the proofs?"
"No, not that. But--"
"I understand your situation, Mr. Case, and I honor you for the stand
you have taken. At the same time I feel it my duty to tell you
something. It is about a case that came under my notice three years
ago. An old man was murdered and his wife was suspected of the crime.
She declared that she was innocent and many believed her. But soon the
evidence began to accumulate against her and she had the same kind of a
shock that Miss Langmore has experienced. She raved and at last cried
out that she was guilty--"
"And was she guilty?"
"It was never proven, although matters looked black against her. The
case hung fire because the old woman kept growing worse. The doctors
who were in attendance did all that medical science could suggest to
bring the old woman out of her peculiar state. But it was of no avail."
"And the end, doctor, the end?" questioned the young man eagerly.
"It's a sorry thing to tell you, but it is best to be warned. The old
woman went mad and while in that condition she one night committed
suicide by leaping out of a window. It is a sad case but it may act as
a warning. Someone must be on hand to watch Miss Langmore constantly."
A long conversation followed, and the specialist gave minute direction
to the nurse, who promised to get another nurse to relieve her. Then
the medical man mixed up several drugs and placed the mixture in a
glass with some water.
The talk left Raymond in low spirits and the young man walked up and
down in the parlor below in a thoughtful mood. The outlook was
certainly gloomy enough. What if the shock should prove so severe that
Margaret would never get over it? In that case it would matter little
even if her innocence was established.
In the midst of his meditations he saw a man come up on the porch and
he opened the door to admit Adam Adams and ushered the detective in the
parlor.
"I understand Miss Langmore was brought here," said Adam Adams,
dropping into a chair.
"Yes," and Raymond told his story. "We looked for you at the trial,"
he added.
"I had other things to do, Mr. Case, and I read the most of the
testimony in the newspapers. But I am sorry to learn that Miss
Langmore is in this condition and I trust the specialist pulls her
through in good shape."
"Yes, yes, so do I. But we must clear her, Mr. Adams--it must be done."
"I said I would do my best. But this is going to be no ordinary
mystery to unravel. It is deeper than most folks suspect. A deep
motive was the cause of the double murder--a motive I hope to unearth
before I am through."
"Unless the mystery is speedily cleared up I am afraid Miss Langmore
will go raving mad, and the specialist is afraid so, too."
"Yes, such things have happened before--the mental strain is too great
for sensitive nerves to bear. So I must lose no time. Now to come to
business. I want you to tell me all you can about Mr. Langmore's life
and his business dealings with people in this vicinity."