The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-09
A STRANGE COINCIDENCE.


to be a very triling accident. She slipped and
fell, and in falling struck her head against the
bulwark of the boat Her mother who was
close by, and had seen the blow, was alarmed
by it, and asked her daughter if she had hurt
her head.
mo, mamma, the girl answered; nothing to
signify but have hurt my foot / don't think
| can stand"
By this time she had been helped out of the
stream of passengers, which was pouring from
the boat to the shore, and placed on one of the
deck seats. Even this movement had given her
so much pain that there was clearlya bad sprain,
if not fracture to be apprehendod, and father,
mother and sister were standing round the stuff
erer in considerable perplexity and dsmay
Suddenly the girl broke into a half-merry,
half-rueful laugh. Don't look so miserable,
please" she said. 81 suppose I must get to the
hotel somehow, and the sooner the better; but
doubt very much whether 1 can stand. Papa, do
! you think l could be carried on shore"
Two gentlemen, the last of the passengers,
had been standing at short distance from the
family group until this moment. When the girl
spoke the elder of the two made step forward
with a remonstratiye "Well, suppose 1 must,
| but it's a horrid bore' And then, with rapid
change of tone and a courteous raising of his
hat, addressed the mother:
II am doctor. Can 1 be of any service to
you2"
The poor lady turned round with wonder
fully relieved countenance "Oh, thank you"
she said. How fortunate! What a com
fort to see an English doctor! If you could tell
us how much she is hurtF
mot very much, hope" he answered, and
proceeded to feel the girls foot and ankle gently
She WINGED little, but smiled and thanked him
prettily
ut is slight sprain," he said (which must be
strapped and kept still for a few days. She had
better be taken to your hotel, If you have car
riage ready will carry her to it at once so that
she may be made comfortable. The less delay
in these cases the better"
In another minute he had picked her up (she
was not very heavy weight certainly and had
put her-'hardly hurting her at ALL" she laugh
ingly said to hiIn-into the carriage which was
to take her to the Schweizerhof. Her mother
and sister went with her-her father was for the
moment absorbed in the care of luggage-and
the doctor, with his llow-traveler walked
briskly along the sunny street after the invalid
and her companions.
Mr.. Garston, the English surgeon who had so
OPPORTUNITY come to the relief of his country
woman in distress, was by means q knight
Grant, nor was he at all pleased by the uneX-
pected call made on his time and services. He
had just begun to enjoy a long desired and
hardly earned holiday, and had come to Switzer-
land, resolved to conceal his profession and
AVOID MS cOnpaUrlObS. Even Wnel Ile aCclu6nb
happened before his eyes he had only awaited to
assure himself that no danger to life had APP
parently risen before he said to his brother:
Now, we will keep out of their way there are
plenty of other people to help them" and he had
been rather annoyed at being answered: "All
the same, think if were you should see that
the sprain was promptly attended TO-"
When the girl whose very lips were white
with pain, had said those few laughing words
as he put her into the carriage, his destination
to help her had partly melted. 'She does
not make any unnecessary fuss" he said to
himself; and although he still grumbled at his
brothers remark, he offered himself as a victim
to circumstances. He and his brother were 60
ing to stay few days at the Schweizerhof, and
as they walked thither he felt that after all it
would have been brutal TO refuse his aid in a
case where it could be given with SO little
trouble, and might alleviate much suffering
Before the end of the day tolerably friendly
relations had been established between the Gar
stons and the family of the elder Mr.. Garstons
patient. The head of this family was Mr. Ster-
ling, Scotchman long established in Manches-
ter, and very wealthy His wife was a kind,
simple woman, who was not yet quite sure
whether, for her own part, she liked the grand
eur of her later days one bit better than the
comparative poverty of her earlier ones but who
certainly did like her pretty daughters to have
Everything of the best and their own wills in
almost everything The girls were both pretty
and good; and that one of them, at least, pos
sessed a considerable amount of courage and
self-control Mr.. Garston could have testified
after he had strapped up and bandaged her
swollen ankle and told her that for good many
days to come she would have to limit her ac
quaintance with beautiful Lucerne to as much
of it as could be seen from her couch and win
dow.
Nor was his opinion shrken even when, quite
early the next morning, Mr. Sterling came to his
room and begged he would have the goodness to
visit Minnie as soon possible, as she had had
a restless night and much alarmed her mother.
He obeyed the call directly, and was shocked to
find the girl half delrious, moaning now and
then, 'My head, my head and in high fever.
1t was evident that the blow on her head, re-
garded as of no consequence at the time, had
been really the more serious injury of the two,
and Mr. Garston at once found all his care and
skill called upon to avert very serious conse-
quences
This care and SKILL however, were not small
nor were they grudgingly used and with the
| tender nursing of mother and sister they sue.
ceeded by and by in bringing all danger to an
end For some days Mr.. CASTOR made himself
almost a prisoner then, as cause for anxiety
diminished, he ventured to go with his brother
on various short expeditions, and presently
| things reached a stage at which he saw his
| patient in the morning and then felt himself
at liberty $50 far as she was concerned to be alb
sent until the same hour on the following day.
! Mr. Sterling joined in some of these excursions;
two or three times his youngest daughter Emmie
| 1.-THE Sterlings were great in dlminutives was of
| the party, and the Sterlings' sitting room was
always open to the brothers in the evening.
Thus a considerable degree of intimacy grew up
before Minnie was able to leave her room.
1t was in the very end of her Imprisonment
that curious incident occurred.
One evening, after the two brothers had been
absent all day, and when they had come back to
the hotel unusually tired Mr. Garston refused
to drop in for the customary cup of tea in the
Sterllngs sitting room. He would smoke a eli
gar, he said and go to bed early. The heat of
the day had made his head ache, and he not
bright enough to care for talk So he was left
alone, and before 10 o'clock went to bed
He had taken book with him, which at first
interested him good deal He had no premon-
itory feeling of drowsness to warn him to put
out his light but he probably did fall asleep-as
we sometimes do-quite abruptly. At any rate,
waking or asleep. his attention reused by
| the nneniny of his door and the entrance of a