“Strange!” commented Murray. “This Madison Harkness is our Harkness, beyond question, and he also corresponds, except physically, to the Harkness who was refused.”
So far as was known at Madison, Harkness was physically sound and well. He certainly had been considered a strong, healthy man.
“That,” said Murray, “answers the description of the man who was here, but it really means nothing, as far as the other refusal is concerned. Heart trouble was the cause of that refusal, and there hardly would have been any indication of that to the casual observer. This Madison Harkness may well have been the man who was refused or the man who applied to us, but he can hardly be both—unless you have made a mistake, Doctor.”
“I’ll examine him again,” said the doctor.
So he sent for Harkness again, on the plea that he had mislaid the record of the previous examination, and this time he gave particular attention to the heart.
“Normal and strong,” he reported. “No trouble there. It’s possible he had some slight temporary affection when he was examined for the other company. The heart is sometimes most deceptive, and there are occasionally apparent evidences of a serious malady where none really exists. In some cases I’ve discovered symptoms of heart trouble at one examination and found them absolutely lacking a little later. This man is all right.”
Nevertheless, Murray questioned Harkness closely.
“Are you sure,” he asked, the question having been previously answered when the application was made, “that you never were refused by any other company?”
“I never applied for insurance before,” replied Harkness, but there was the same shifty look in his eyes.
“Did you ever know another Harkness at Madison, Indiana?”