But he was by no means prepared to accept
her fantastic and ignorantly vague explanation of it. That was a wild
fable, a fairy tale for a child, not a reasonable elucidation for a man
and a doctor. The most curious thing of all was that she declared that
Valentine had actually told her the truth about the matter, knowing that
she could not understand it. The doctor resolved to see her later, and
to question her more minutely on this point. Meanwhile he began to watch
Valentine carefully, and with the most sedulous attention to every detail
and _nuance_ of manner, look, and word. He understood Julian. His sad
case was to an extent due to his long happiness and freedom from the
bondage in which so many men move wearily. It was as if his passions had
been dammed up by the original influence of Valentine. Through the years,
behind the height of the dam, the waters had been rising, accumulating,
pressing. Suddenly the dam was removed, and a devastating flood swept
forth, uncontrollable, headlong, and furious. Julian needed rescue, but
the only way to rescue seemed to lie through Valentine, within whose
circle of influence he was so closely bound. The mystery of Valentine
must be laid bare.
And so the doctor watched and wondered, bringing all his knowledge of the
world and of the minds and bodies of men to help him.
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