Mrs. Nichol again sank into her chair and wept bitterly; her husband at last remained silent in a sort of inward, impotent rage of grief. There was their son, alive and in physical health, yet between him and them was a viewless barrier which they could not break through.
The strange complications, the sad thwartings of hope which must result unless he was restored, began to loom already in the future.
Dr. Barnes now came forward and said: "Captain Nichol, you are as you are at this moment, but you must know that you are not what you were once. We are trying to restore you to your old self. You"d be a great deal better off if we succeed. You must help us all you can. You must be patient, and try all the time to recollect. You know I am not deceiving you, but seeking to help you. You don"t like this. That doesn"t matter. Didn"t you see doctors do many things in hospitals which the patients didn"t like?"
"I reckon," replied Nichol, growing reasonable at once when brought on familiar ground.
"Well, you are my patient. I may have to do some disagreeable things, but they won"t hurt you. It won"t be like taking off an arm or a leg.
You have seen that done, I suppose?"
"You bet!" was the eager, proud reply. "I used to hold the fellows when they squirmed."
"Now hold yourself. Be patient and good-natured. While we are about it, I want to make every appeal possible to your lost memory, and I order you to keep on trying to remember till I say: "Through for the present." If we succeed, you"ll thank me all the days of your life.
Anyhow, you must do as I say."
"Oh, I know that."
"Well, then, your name is Captain Nichol. This is Mr. Nichol, your father; this lady is your mother. Call them father and mother when you speak to them. Always speak kindly and pleasantly. They"ll take you to a pleasant home when I"m through with you, and you must mind them.
They"ll be good to you everyway."
Nichol grinned acquiescence and said: "All right, Doctor."
"Now you show your good sense. We"ll have you sound and happy yet." The doctor thought a moment and then asked: "Mr. Nichol, I suppose that after our visit to Mr. Kemble, you and your wife would prefer to take your son home with you?"
"Certainly," was the prompt response.
"I would advise you to do so. After our next effort, however it results, we all will need rest and time for thought. Captain, remain here a few moments with your father and mother. Listen good-naturedly and answer pleasantly to whatever they may say to you. I will be back soon."
CHAPTER XIII
"I"M HELEN"
Dr. Barnes descended the stairs to the parlor where Mr. Kemble impatiently awaited him. "Well?" said the banker, anxiously.
"I will explain while on the way to your house. The carriage is still ready, I suppose?" to Jackson.
"Yes," was the eager reply; "how did he take the meeting of his parents?"
"In the main as I feared. He does not know them yet. Mr. Jackson, you and I are somewhat alike in one of our duties. I never talk about my patients. If I did, I ought to be drummed out of the town instead of ever being called upon again. Of course you feel that you should not talk about your guests. You can understand why the parties concerned in this matter would not wish to have it discussed in the village."
"Certainly, Doctor, certainly," replied Jackson, reddening, for he knew something of his reputation for gossip. "This is no ordinary case."
"No, it is not. Captain Nichol and his friends would never forgive any one who did not do right by them now. In about fifteen minutes or so I will return. Have the carriage wait for me at Mr. Kemble"s till again wanted. You may go back to the captain and do your best to keep him wide-awake."
Jackson accompanied them to the conveyance and said to the man on the box: "Obey all Dr. Barnes"s orders."
As soon as the two men were seated, the physician began: "Our first test has failed utterly;" and he briefly narrated what had occurred, concluding, "I fear your daughter will have no better success. Still, it is perhaps wise to do all we can, on the theory that these sudden shocks may start up the machinery of memory. Nichol is excited; such powers as he possesses are stimulated to their highest activity, and he is evidently making a strong effort to recall the past, I therefore now deem it best to increase the pressure on his brain to the utmost. If the obstruction does not give way, I see no other course than to employ the skill of experts and trust to the healing processes of time."
"I am awfully perplexed, Doctor," was the reply. "You must be firm with me on one point, and you know your opinion will have great weight.
Under no sentimental sense of duty, or even of affection, must Helen marry Nichol unless he is fully restored and given time to prove there is no likelihood of any return of this infirmity."
"I agree with you emphatically. There is no reason for such self-sacrifice on your daughter"s part. Nichol would not appreciate it.
He is not an invalid; on the contrary, a strong, muscular man, abundantly able to take care of himself under the management of his family."
"He has my profound sympathy," continued Mr. Kemble, "but giving that unstintedly is a very different thing from giving him my only child."
"Certainly. Perhaps we need not say very much to Miss Helen on this point at present. Unless he becomes his old self she will feel that she has lost him more truly than if he were actually dead. The only deeply perplexing feature in the case is its uncertainty. He may be all right before morning, and he may never recall a thing that happened before the explosion of that sh.e.l.l."
The carriage stopped, and Mr. Kemble hastily led the way to his dwelling. Helen met them at the door. "Oh, how long you have been!" she protested; "I"ve just been tortured by suspense."
Dr. Barnes took her by the hand and led her to the parlor. "Miss Helen," he said gravely, "if you are not careful you will be another patient on my hands. Sad as is Captain Nichol"s case, he at least obeys me implicitly; so must you. Your face is flushed, your pulse feverish, and--"
"Doctor," cried the girl, "you can"t touch the disease till you remove the cause. Why is he kept so long from me?"
"Helen, child, you MUST believe that the doctor--that we all--are doing our best for you and Nichol," said Mr. Kemble, anxiously. "His father and mother came to the hotel. It was but natural that they should wish to see him at once. How would we feel?"
"Come, Helen, dear, you must try to be more calm," urged the mother, gently, with her arm around her daughter"s neck. "Doctor, can"t you give her something to quiet her nerves?"
"Miss Helen, like the captain, is going to do just as I say, aren"t you? You can do more for yourself than I can do for you. Remember, you must act intelligently and cooperate with me. His father, and especially his mother, exhibited the utmost degree of emotion and made the strongest appeals without effect. Now we must try different tactics. All must be quiet and nothing occur to confuse or irritate him."
"Ah, how little you all understand me! The moment you give me a chance to act I can be as calm as you are. It"s this waiting, this torturing suspense that I cannot endure. Hobart would not have permitted it. He knows, he understands. Every effort will fail till Albert sees me. It will be a cause for lasting grat.i.tude to us both that I should be the one to restore him. Now let me manage. My heart will guide me better than your science."
"What will you do?" inquired her father, in deep solicitude.
"See, here"s his picture," she replied, taking it from a table near--"the one he gave me just before he marched away. Let him look at that and recall himself. Then I will enter. Oh, I"ve planned it all! My self-control will be perfect. Would I deserve the name of woman if I were weak or hysterical? No, I would do my best to rescue any man from such a misfortune, much more Albert, who has such sacred claims."
"That"s a good idea of yours about the photograph. Well, I guess I must let Nature have her own way again, only in this instance I advise quiet methods."
"Trust me, Doctor, and you won"t regret it."
"Nerve yourself then to do your best, but prepare to be disappointed for the present. I do not and cannot share in your confidence."
"Of course you cannot," she said, with a smile which illuminated her face into rare beauty. "Only love and faith could create my confidence."
"Miss Helen," was the grave response, "would love and faith restore Captain Nichol"s right arm if he had lost it?"
"Oh, but that"s different," she faltered.
"I don"t know whether it is or not. We are experimenting. There may be a physical cause obstructing memory which neither you nor any one can now remove. Kindness only leads me to temper your hope."
"Doctor," she said half-desperately, "it is not hope; it is belief. I could not feel as I do if I were to be disappointed."
"Ah, Miss Helen, disappointment is a very common experience. I must stop a moment and see one who has learned this truth pretty thoroughly.
Then I will bring Nichol and his parents at once."