ibility--that the whole thing might be
delusion on Fenwick's part. How could such an imperfect memory-record
be said to prove anything without confirmation from without?

His habits of thought had qualified him to keep this possibility
provisionally in the background without forgetting it. There was
nothing in the mere knowledge of its existence to prevent his trying
to recall all he could of the story of the disappearance of Harrisson,
as he read it in the newspapers a year and a half ago. There had been
a deal of talk about it at the time, and great efforts had been made
to trace Harrisson, but without success. The doctor lingered a
little on his way, conscious that he could recall very little of
the Harrisson case, but too interested to be able to leave his
recollections dormant until he should get substantial information.
The Octopus could recollect all about it no doubt, but how venture to
apply to her? Or how to Sally? Though, truly, had he done so, it would
have been with much less hope of a result. Neither Sally nor her
mother were treasure-houses of the day's gossip, as _his_ mother was.
"We must have taken mighty little notice of what was going on in the
world at the time," so thought the doctor to himself.

What _did_ he actually recollect? A paragraph headed "Disappearance
of a Millionaire" in a hurried perusal of an evening paper as he rode
to an urgent case; a repetition--several repetitions--on the newspaper
posters of the name Harrisson during the fortnight following, chiefly
disclosing supposed discoveries of the missing man, sandwiched with
other discoveries of their falsehood--clue and disappointment by
turns. He could remember his own perfectly spurious interest in the
case, produced by such announcements staring at him from all points
of the compass, and his own preposterous contributions to talk-making
about them, such as "Have they found that man Harrisson yet?" knowing
himself the merest impostor all the while, but feeling it dutiful
to be up-to-date. How came no one of them all to put two and two
together?

A gleam of a solution was supplied to the doctor's mind when he
set himself to answer the question, "How should I have gone about
suspecting it?" How, indeed? Ordinary every-day people--_you_'s
and _me_'s--can't lightly admit to our minds the idea that we
have actually got mixed up with the regular public people in the
newspapers. Have not even our innocent little announcements that we
ha