Geoffrey's Victory by Mrs Georgie Sheldon — page 74: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

70 THE RECEPTION. Everet Mapleson turned a look of blank astonishment upon his companion, while a strange pallor settled over his own face. Mr. Huntress then related to him the circumstances which brought Geoffrey to his notice, telling of his unac- countable interest in him, of the experiment which had resulted in the restoration of the boy’s reason, and-of his subsequent adoption of the lad. Everet Mapleson grew very grave as he listened, and a hundred conflicting thoughts came crowding into his mind. Could it be possible, after all, that this young man whom he had so disliked, and was fast learning to hate froma feeling of jealousy, was in some mysterious way con- nected with the proud family of Mapleson ? He did not know of a relative by that name, and yet there might be. He resolved that he would sift the matter the very next time he went home. “And you know absolutely nothing about him previous to that time?” he asked of Mr. Huntress. “No, nothing; while he was evidently so young at the time he received the injury which deprived him of his reason that there was comparatively little that he could remember about himself. Of his father or mother he knew nothing; ‘Margery’ and ‘Jack’ are the only names that he has been able to recall, while his memories of them are very vague. I imagine, however, that the woman Margery must have been a sort of nurse who had the care of him.” Everet Mapleson started and colored as he heard these names. He instantly recalled the incident that had occurred a few days previous, on Broadway, when the poor old flower-vender had detained him, believing that she had at Jast found the boy whom she had nursed so many years ago. His first impulse was to tell Mr. Huntress of this ad- venture, but he checked the inclination, resolving that he would himself try to find old Margery again and glean all that he could from her regarding Geoffrey's early history. He began to realize that there was something very much more mysterious about their strange resemblance than had at first appeared. It might not be so much a “freak of nature” as he had tried to think it, and if there was any important comicbaool<