bers?"

"Is landing with the survivors. Everything before that is a blank. She
did not know her own name, or where she had come from, or where she was.
She couldn't even speak her own tongue."

"But surely all this is most unusual?" put in Julius.

"No, my dear sir. Quite normal under the circumstances. Severe shock to
the nervous system. Loss of memory proceeds nearly always on the same
lines. I suggested a specialist, of course. There's a very good man in
Paris--makes a study of these cases--but Mrs. Vandemeyer opposed the
idea of publicity that might result from such a course."

"I can imagine she would," said Sir James grimly.

"I fell in with her views. There is a certain notoriety given to these
cases. And the girl was very young--nineteen, I believe. It seemed
a pity that her infirmity should be talked about--might damage her
prospects. Besides, there is no special treatment to pursue in such
cases. It is really a matter of waiting."

"Waiting?"

"Yes, sooner or later, the memory will return--as suddenly as it
went. But in all probability the girl will have entirely forgotten the
intervening period, and will take up life where she left off--at the
sinking of the Lusitania."

"And when do you expect this to happen?"

The doctor shrugged his shoulders.

"Ah, that I cannot say. Sometimes it is a matter of months, sometimes
it has been known to be as long as twenty years! Sometimes another shock
does the trick. One restores what the other took away."

"Another shock, eh?" said Julius thoughtfully.

"Exactly. There was a case in Colorado----" The little man's voice
trailed on, voluble, mildly enthusiastic.

Julius did not seem to be listening. He had relapsed into his own
thoughts and was frowning. Suddenly he came out of his brown study,
and hit the table such a resounding bang with his fist that every one
jumped, the doctor most of all.

"I've got it! I guess, doc, I'd like your medical opinion on the plan
I'm about to outline. Say Jane was to cross the herring pond again, and
the same thing was to happen. The submarine, the sinking ship, every one
to take to the boats--and so on. Wouldn't that do the trick? Wouldn't it
give a mighty big bump to her subconscious self, or whatever the jargon
is, and start it functioning again right away?"

"A very interesting speculation, Mr. Hersheimmer. In my own opinion, it
would be successful. It is unfortunate that there is no chance of the
conditions repeatin