Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1883-06-14


front room until eleven and One-half
o'clock, reading newspaper. Hertwo
children were asleep in bed in the ad-
joining room, the sliding doors standing
open. Before preparing for bed she
knelt down by the side of her chair to-
pray. While still on her knees she
heard quick step on the pavement of
the court, and then in the hall. The
door opened. As the step was like that
of her husband she remained on her
! knees till her prayers were said. and
then arose to her feet. Turning around
she found that stranger was in the
room. The man was tall. had dark
hair and light mustachc, and was de-
Gently dressed. He had a pleasant face.
Bowling. he said:
II have been looking for you for fif-
teen years"
Looking for me for fifteen years.
said Mrs. Buckley. in great surprise.
You have the advantage of me. IdOn t
know yOu.'
Yes" he reioined. "Tve been look
ing for YOU all that time
Thinking he might be some friend
or relative of her own family, she in
vited him to sit down. He took chair
ty the table.
..Who are you. and what do you
want?' Mrs. Buckley asked.
II wanted to see you. You are the
Goddess of Prayer, are you mott?
The question nearly frightened Mrs.
Buckley into faint, for she saw then
that his eyes were unsteady and that he
was undoubtedly crazy. Thinking of
the safety of her children, and knowing
if she screamed for help that none would
be likely to reach her quickly at that
hour, she controlled herself with an eff
fort and answered slowly:
Yes, | am. Now what do you
want?'
Il will tell you what l want. am
a surgeon, French surgeon, educated
at the University of Paris. For thirty
years have disSected the human body
to learn of its wonders. For twenty
years have devoted myself especially
to the heart. In all that time | have
dissected only dead hearts. Now | de-
sire "a live one to dissect, in order that |
may see its pulsations. l knew you
would be here, and that your health DC
manded that your heart be taken out
and cleansed That is why / came.
Did YOU ever hear of cleansing heart
while it was alive?''
..Oh. yes,' said Mrs. Buckley; II
know three doctors only just little
way from here who tried it, but they
failed
.'Of course they did. 1 never fail. y
mo, you will never fail. l am sure
of that
care you, really?' he asked, bright
ening up.
ooh, yes, l am perfectly sure of
that
Then, fearing that he would see the
children, or that they would attract his
attention, she said:
"How cold it is. Don't YOU feel n
draught? / think I'd better shut the
doors
'sYou must shut the doors at once, :"
he said, ''for your heart must be kept
warm
1t was a great relief for her to see the
doors safely closed, even though the
outer door was closed at the same
time. She walked back to the chair she
had occupied, hoping only that her hus-
band would come home. AS she sat
down the doctor saw, in a corner, a
skipping-rope belonging to one of the
little girls.
.'Just the thing" he said, pointing to
it. Il can tie you in the large arm
chair, perform the experiment, return
the heart safely to its place, give you a
dose of my elixir, and you viii live for
ever. Seen'
He drew from various pockets half a
dozen small knives and scalpels, each
wrapped in tissue paper. They were
slowly unrolled and handed to her, one
at time. to show her that each was in
'.admirablc condition for delicate
work" A knife was produced from an
inner pocket and handed to her. Its
edge was keen.
Now" he said, when she had looked
ut them. '.I'll take the rope
Hold on she interrupted. THAT
will hurt. You will have to tie me very
tight, because if moved it would spoil
the operation, wouldn't it?"
He nodded.
Those other doctors had table
when they tried it, and there were broad
straps to hold the woman down on it
tight. ! know where it is. Besides.
there's a neighbOr of mine who is af-
fiicted about as | am She lives just
two doors down the street from the
court. She's particular friend Of
mine, and I'd like to have her operate
on at the same time If You'll go for
that table, we can call and get her on
the way. What do you say?"
To her intense relief, the man readily
assented.
ats cold out, isn't it?' she said.
Hadn't better get shawl?'
She said this to keep him from think
ing she only wanted to get him out If
the house. He agreed, saying again
that her heart must be kept warm.
Throwing shawl over her shoulders,
she led the way through the hall to tie
court, hoping to get him down the
street, two doors from the court, to a
saloon that was open, so that help could
be obtained. They walked slowly up
tie court, toward the street, the doc tor
frequently directing her to wrap her,
self closely in order to keep her heart
warm. In passing one of the door
ways, Mrs. Buckley thought she de-
tected the outlines of a man, but the
court was too dark for her to make sure,
and 50 she did not dare to take the risk
of screaming. Just as the two got be-
yond the doorway the doctor asked her
if herheart was still warm, and then
Mrs. Buckley was showed to one SIDE,
and three men grasped the doctor from
behind. They had sprung from the
shadow of the doorway. A fierce strug-
gle followed. Not word was spoken,
the only sounds being the heavy breath