“I used to be annoyed, and denied them, till I began to be scouted by the men I knew; and at last one or two of them brought unimpeachable witnesses to prove that I was in the wrong.”
“Oh, John Huish, my dear boy, how can you let yourself be imposed upon so easily!”
“There is no imposition, I assure you. I give you the facts.”
“Facts! Did you ever know anyone come and tell you that he owed you money, and pay you?”
“Yes, half a dozen times over—heavier amounts than I have had to pay.”
“Humph! that’s strange,” said the doctor, looking curiously at his visitor.
“Strange?—it’s fearful!” cried the young man passionately. “It is getting to be a curse to me, and I cannot shake off the horrible feeling that I am losing my mind—that I am going wrong. And if this be the case, I cannot bear it, especially just now, when—”
He checked himself, and gazed piteously at the man to whom he had come for help.
“Be cool, boy. Supposing it is as you say, it is only a trifle, perhaps; but it seems to me that there is a great deal of imagination in it.”
“Oh no—oh no! I fear I am going, slowly but surely, out of my mind.”