or. As he stood staring at her,
with those black, piercing eyes and sardonic smile of his he looked
exactly like the terrible man in her dream. Of course, that was silly,
but she could not overcome her first aversion to the man. Since the
accident he had called at the boarding house several times on the
pretense of inquiring after her health, and on each occasion she noticed
that he looked at her strangely. Why did he come so often--by what right
did he stare at her and question in that searching, inquisitional
manner? In future, she would not allow it. She would resent it as an
intolerable impertinence. If he came again she would refuse to see him.

One afternoon she was home, alone. The weather was stormy and had
spoiled a little shopping excursion arranged with one of her Settlement
friends. At a loss what to do in order to kill time, she thought she
would practice a little, so going to the piano, she played a few bars.
This soon tired her. Finding she had no mind for music, she picked up a
book and tried to read. But she found it impossible to become
interested. For some reason she could not explain she felt nervous and
ill at ease. Depressing fancies came crowding into her brain. There was
nothing particularly to worry about, yet something within told her that
a critical moment in her affairs was fast approaching. She was growing
more and more uncomfortable, when suddenly there came a rap at the door.
Nervously she jumped up, wondering who it could be. Surely Mrs. Parkes
would not knock, and she had not heard the front doorbell.

"Come in," she called out timidly.

The door opened and Dr. Zacharie appeared on the threshold, bowing and
smiling.

Dr. Louis Zacharie belonged to that class of medical practitioner,
limited happily in number, who do not hesitate to disgrace a noble
profession for mere love of lucre. An arrant humbug, he called himself a
nerve specialist, and with the help of one or two yellow newspapers
ever ready to print any trash so long as it was sensational, had
succeeded in getting himself talked about as an authority on nervous
diseases. Silly women and foolish men believed he possessed
extraordinary powers to cure their imaginary ailments, and flocked in
crowds to his waiting rooms. Society took him up. It became the fashion
to consult him. Soon he was so busy that he could be seen by appointment
only, and money literally flowed into his coffers. A man of magnetic
personality, with some skill