Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1882-08-03

Tom. 81 hope l am not going to have
you for a patient, Rousted. You are
as pale as a ghost"
@Broken heart" laughed the captain.
mo, / don't think you will" The
warmth gives me slight headache;
that is all;
But there was something more. AS
the day grew, the slight headache be-
came a severe one, throbbing and pulls
ing, the pale face flushed, and the
strong limbs trembled and failed as
they had never done before.
At about o'clock, as Tom sat in his
office writing out some prescriptions,
Captain Housted entered the room and
staggered into chair.
II am afraid you are going to have
patient Halifax" he said, smiling feebly.
II feel rather faint" And as ne said
it he dropped his deathly face upon the
table, and lay there without moving.
He had braved it a long time, but
the dreadful pest had come upon him
at last. Tom sent for Colonel Ashby,
and the sick mau was carried home.
At the door Bessie met them with a
pale face, but steady eyes.
"She ought to have been sent away"
said Tom.
"But I am not afraid" she answered,
firmly. 'Please let me stay?''
l dare say you will decide that DR..
Halifax was shockingly unstable, when
/ tell you that from that time his mind
began to waver as regarded Bessie Ash
by. Meeting her every day in her
cousins sick room it was not easy to
feel cold and stern. She was so sweet
and girlish in her new humility, and
now the old capricious coquetry was
thrown aside, and in all her appealing
obedience to his orders he could not
fail to see little sensitive fear which
sometimes troubled, but always stirred
his heart. He must take care of her,
too; every shadow that crossed the
pretty face must be inquired into. He
was not going to fall in love again, of
course; he was merely doing his duty
as medical man. Still it was rather
interesting.
Capt. Housted was the last serious
case of sickness, but it was very Sc
we're one. For months the poor fellows
life lay trembling in tn balance-one
day fevered and delirious, the next ap-
parently sinking into death. But in
time he began to struggle through it,
and, thanks to Toms skill and patience,
the shadowy face began to light with a
faint glimmer of returning strength.
Gradually the fearful scourge weaken
ed its power, and little by little seemed
passing away. There were still pa
tients to be visited, and work to be
done, but the awful rage of the pesti-
lence had swept by. Then it was that
Tom Halifax began to reap his reward.
People who had never heard his name
six months before, sent for him in all
critical cases. Men of wealth and high
standing Ill society cOurted his &C
quaaintance as the brave young doc
tor who did his work so nobly through
out the sickness at Dorning. Men and
women pointed him out to each other
on the street, saying: "But for him I
should have been laid in my grave"
HE saved nay children for me-"
"When my mother died he was the
last man she knew" "When we
were in trouble he worked for us day
and night. God bless him!" Had there
been nothing else, the warm loyal
young heart would have thrilled with
tender thankfulness at the simple graf
itude of the humble sufferers to whom
he seemed almost a Saviour, but apart
from this, reality came to him.
There was no lack Of practice now,
and the name and fortune that had
seemed Sc far away a year ago, became
a promise of truth. OF course as yet
they were not quite perfected, but still
each day brought them nearer, and
showed something of solid advance
ment in life and prospect. The Chat
eaux en- E5pagne were beginning to
stand on substantial foundation.
Perhaps this might have made him
very happy. Naturally he felt thank
tul, but being very warm hearted and
lin some things very unscientifc M.
d., he could not feel quite restful.
The truest of al truths is, that what
ever we love, We can forgive, and what
ever we forgive, it is not difficult to
love. Bessie Ashby had refused Capt.
Housted. Why had she done it? Could
it be that her foolish little heart was
subdued at last? 1t is easy to be mag
unanimous when one has been injured,
and it is hard not to be magnanimous
when the injurer is pretty girl whom
one has lived. If this were more than
a simple record, should certainly de-
eide that my hero could not forgive my
heroine under any circumstances, and
consequently should doom them both
to misery and despair. But as it is, |
am compelled to say that Tom Halifax,
NJ. d., fOrgave Bessie Ashby, for the
simple reason that, in spite Of her
faults, he loved her.
And Bessie? During her cousins
sickness she had learned the extent of
the M. DPS power. She had found out
that she could look up to him and rely
on his strength, that she could trust
him implicitly. She began to discover
that he had higher object in view than
the regard for self, which had been the
one ruling power of her life, and his
example taught her the true nobility Of
generous sacrifice. Still, in spite of the
change in the hearts Of both, they had
not advanced much outwardly from the
old GOODNESS. But in the second month
of Capt. Housted's illness the denoue-
ment came, as a denouement always
comes, unexpectedly.
One evening there had been a slight
return of the fever. and after a heavy
sleep the patient awakened, restless
and wandering. Bessie was standing at
one side of the bed, and DR.. Halifax at
the other, holding the captains hand as
he opened his eyes.
sit was you she loved after all, Hall
tax" he said, smiling family. II am
only Cousin Fred"
The blood r1shed into Ressie's faca