Hetner’s jaw dropped, and he stared hard at the speaker. At the same time, behind Locke’s back, Kennedy clenched his right fist, and his eyes narrowed as he listened to this sudden change in the young left-hander’s style of speech. “That’s right, doctor,” he said suddenly. “Folks seem to think that Stranger, here, is someone else. Even I made that mistake. It annoys him.” “Do you mean to tell me,” persisted Doctor Hetner, his eyes fastened on Locke, “that you weren’t on that train when a broken rail sent us into the ditch? I looked for you among the injured or killed, but couldn’t find you.” “I never was in a train wreck in my life,” said Lefty. Baffled, the doctor turned away, mumbling an excuse, although not at all satisfied. “I wish they’d quit that,” said Lefty, brushing a hand across his forehead. “I wish they’d stop taking me for some other person. It’s infernally annoying.” “It must be,” agreed Kennedy, turning to Toots Kilgore. “Toots,” he said, in a low tone, “take the boys to the hotel and get supper. If I’m not there, I’ll meet you at the train.” CHAPTER XXXVII THE DOCTOR’S DOUBTS “Yes,” said Doctor Hetner, sitting in his office, facing Manager Kennedy, “of course it’s possible for such a thing to happen. Of course, the man’s mind may be affected, and he may not remember his former life and friends. At the same time, he may be suffering under a delusion, which has led him to take a new name and assume a different character. Such instances, although rare, are well known to medical science.” “What brings them about?” inquired Kennedy eagerly. “Overstudy, overwork, a diseased condition of the body or mind, a sudden shock――oh, numerous things. It has almost a thousand different forms. Psychologists and physicians who make a study of the subject recognize many of the symptoms.” “Have you made a study of it, doc?” “Not what you might call a thorough study, although, of course, among my books I have many which deal with neurasthenia and its allied forms. Still, I’ll give you my word that I never for a moment recognized the symptoms in Hazelton. It seemed to me that the fellow, when he met me on the train, was simply declining to acknowledge an old acquaintance for reasons of pride or something of that sort. That it was aphasia didn’t occur to me. It’s likely you know how he happened to go into baseball under a fake name?” “But there ain’t no disgrace playing baseball these days,” growled the old manager. “There’s as clean a set of fellers in the game as you can find anywhere.”