“Very adroitly,” Dr. Wallace said, “I maneuvered the conversation around so that it included the city of Alta-ville. I had previously ascertained from a driving license found in his pocket that the man was a resident of Alta-ville, and that his name was Carl Packard. By leading the conversation to Altaville and its environments in such a way that I did not add to his mental shock, I soon cleared up the patient’s mental condition.”
“What did you do with the driving license?”
“I returned it to him.”
“And he knew who he was at that time?”
“Oh, yes, he remembered his identity and was able to discuss matters intelligently.”
“Now, Doctor, after leaving the hospital, this man disappeared.”
“So I am given to understand.”
“He was next found pinned under a wrecked automobile at the bottom of a precipitous canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains. The very severe injuries he had sustained had evidently killed him almost instantly, as will be shown by the testimony of the autopsy surgeon.”
“Yes,” Dr. Wallace said, “I noticed in making even a superficial examination that the skull had been completely crushed.”
“There were also numerous other internal injuries and broken bones. Now, Doctor, I want to know if it’s possible that the patient wasn’t cured of this amnesia that you mentioned, but was wandering around in sort of a daze.”