"No, we'll get better clothes. Come on."
DeGolyer took him to a Turkish bath, to a barbershop, and then to a
clothing store. It was now evening and nearly time to take the train
for Chicago. They drove to the hotel and then to the railway station.
The homeward journey was begun, and the wheels kept on repeating: "A
father and a mother and a sister, too." DeGolyer did not permit
himself to think. His mind had a thousand quickenings, but he killed
them. Young Witherspoon looked in awe at the luxury of the
sleeping-car; he gazed at the floor as if he wondered how it could be
scrubbed. At first he refused to sit on the showy plush, and even
after DeGolyer's soothing and affectionate words had relieved his fear
of giving offense, he jumped to his feet when the porter came through
the car, and in a trembling fright begged his companion to protect
him against the anger of the head waiter.
"Sit down, my dear boy. He is not a head waiter--he is your servant."
"Is he?"
"Yes, and must wait on you."
At this he doubtfully shook his head, and he continued to watch the
porter until assured that he was not offended, and then timidly
offered to shake hands with him.
When bed-time came young Witherspoon refused to take off his clothes.
He was afraid that some one might steal them, and no argument served
to reassure him; and even after he had lain down, with his clothes on,
he took off a red neck-tie which he had insisted upon wearing, and for
greater security put it into his pocket. DeGolyer lay beside him, and
for a time Witherspoon was quiet, but suddenly he rose up and began to
mutter.
"What's the matter, Henry?"
"Not Henry--Hank. Henry's dead."
"Well, what's the matter, Hank?"
"Want my hat."
"It's up there. We'll get it in the morning."
"Want it now."
DeGolyer got his hat for him, and he lay with it on his breast. How
dragging a night it was! Would the train never run from under the
darkness out into the light of day? And sometimes, when the train
stopped, DeGolyer fancied that it had run ahead of night and
perversely was waiting for the darkness to catch up. The end was
coming, and what an end it might be!
The day was dark and rainy; the landscape was a flat dreariness. A
buzzard flapped his heavy wings and flew from a dead tree; a yelping
dog ran after the train; a horse, turned out to die, stumbled along a
stumpy road.
It was evening when the train reached Chicago. DeGolyer and young
Witherspoon took a cab and were driven to a hospital. The case was
explained to the physician in charge. He said that the mental trouble
might not be due to any permanent derangement of the brain; it was
evident that he had not been treated properly. The patient's nervous
system was badly shattered. The case was by no means hopeless. He
could not determine the length of time it might require to restore him
to physical health, which meant, he thought, a mental cure as well.
"Three months?" DeGolyer asked.
"That long, at least."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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