Then, one Friday night in early July, he came home from work feeling like he had the flu.

Several hospital visits later, doctors finally diagnosed him with a vicious case of Lyme disease that infected his spinal fluid, caused inflammation around his brain, gave him insomnia, briefly paralyzed his face and rendered his legs and feet occasionally numb.

Murley, who has been with the police department since 1972, has been on sick leave since early in July. "Some days I'm OK, some days I'm not," the chief said.

Dr. Alan Sanders, an infectious disease specialist, said it is not unusual for Lyme disease to infect the nervous system -- but it is unusual for the infection to progress to the brain, addling the patient's mind like Murley's was.

"He was vividly on the far end of the spectrum," Sanders said of his patient. The doctor said Murley had some early symptoms of Lyme -- a rash on his back, the flulike illness -- but didn't get it checked.

The flu quickly progressed to scorching back pain, Murley said, describing his many ailments, the numerous doctors he saw and all the tests he underwent.

"I don't remember anything," he said. "This is what I'm told."

A day after Sanders diagnosed Murley and started him on medication, he was "180 degrees better," Murley said.

Lyme disease is carried by ticks, said Sanders. The season for the disease runs from early May to the first frost.

Murley figured he picked up the infectious tick while gardening in his yard near the Pine Bush in Guilderland.

"At that point, I was relieved that it wasn't something more serious," said his wife, Debra Murley. "There were all kinds of terrible possibilities."

The pain lessened, but he was still tired.

"For a long time, I couldn't pull the skin off of rice pudding," he said.

A handful of symptoms persist. His left leg might buckle on uneven ground or a step, and his feet sometimes go numb.

Last week, his doctor tested his reflexes with a tap to his knees.

"Usually, my leg will go up to the ceiling," he said. "This time neither of my legs moved."

He hopes to return to his office on the second floor of Town Hall next week. His wife thinks he may need longer to heal.

"At least he's in his right mind," she said. "I think he'll be OK."

Lt. Carol Lawlor, a 26-year veteran, has been running things, including working on next year's budget. She said Murley phones daily.

"That's the most important thing that's been done since he's been out," she said of the budget. "It's been a quiet summer."

Meanwhile, the active chief has not taken his down-time well.

"Of course, I'm high octane and not being able to do anything?" he said. "It's frustrating as hell."