The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1889-11-28
A STRANGE COMPACT.


A STRANGE COMPACT.
How the Surgeon Saved His Pa
tient From Death.
Il was dreary night in the winter
Of IL Outside q heavy fog filed the
narrow, unsavory streets Of the me-
tropolis. and the lungs and eyes Of such
unfortunates as CHANGED to be abroad.
II even invaded tho small wooden
sanctums OF the night-watchmen. in
terfering with slumbers to which the
inmates were both by age and office
entitled. Across the river. in the
dingy, ill-paved lanes Of the borough.
the fog seemed at Its worst, o light,
wurmish haze being the only indica-
tion Of the presence of those shops
which still remained open, and round
which small. ill-clad urchins, with the
most unmistakable intentions, persist
emily lowered
a sweet night for foot-pads, !" NUT
tered young DIR. Mostyn, as he disen-
gagged himself from chance rencontre
with a post and felt his way along by
tapping with his stout stick at the
ehouse-walls, q proceeding by which he
had already damaged the legs Of three
Of his suffering feilow-creatures, and
poked q large hole in the kitchen win
dow Of a fourth. And now, he con-
tinued, talking to himself for the sake
ofcompany. .for home and supper and
q fire. All, and a patient or two, per-
haps. Who knowsp"
At this cheering prospect his spirits
rose, and he banged nightly at the
wall with his stick in consequence,
until at length, coming to small
street on his right, he turned smartly
down, and having made sure Of his
own door. knocked briskly at it
Who's there?n cried a shrill female
voice in response.
'It's |, Bet. "said her master. .'Open
the door, my good girl"
mot If knows It.. was the cheer
ing reply. You take yourself off,
young man, whoever you are There's
two bulldogs and three men with load
ed guns standing by me, to say moth
ing
.Open the door, Betr' roared her
master through the keyhole. Don't
you know mep"
rs it nine o'clock, or is il elevenpn
propounded the damsel; because, IL
its eleven o'clock. my eyes deceive me;
and II it's nine o'clock, your voice de-
ceives me; for the doctor said he'd be
home at eleven and not before; and
considering the fog, / should say a
good deal arter.n
open the doorr' said the surgeon,
sharply. .'Pm back already because
my patients dead. Come; open at
oncer'
There was breaking and shooting
OF bolts as he finished speaking; and
the door being cautiously opened. dis
covered an angular woman OF some
tive-and-thirty years. whose nervous
face cleared directly she saw her
master.
'.I'm asking your pardon for keeping
you SO long, SIR" said she; s'but one
never knows who's who; and judging
by the noises and trimmings, there's
been rare doings round the corner to,
night"
..Any body been. Betpn asked the
surgeon. as. ten minutes later, he sa,
down to q carefully grilled chop.
mot soul.n replied his hand
maiden.
.'And a nice person you would be Il
open the door. II an accident had ar
rived. 75-z-s5
..Oh. / should have opened it a
once, said Bet, with decision. .'Di
rectly they used the word .acci
dent. should have opened it ani
chanced it."
Her master, smiling at her devo
ton, drew his chair to the fire, ant
having carefully filled long clay
pipe. fell to smoking with an air o
great enjoyment and content. Then
thinking 1t extremely unlikely that h,
would be disturbed at that late hour
he dismissed his retainer to her quar-
tiers in . neighboripg house. and being
left to himself, lapsed into a brown
!, study.
1t might have been the fog, or i
might have been the unexpected deati
Of his patient; whatever the cause, hi
thoughts took very gloomy direction
indeed. and he shook his head despond
ingly as no thought Of his future pros
poets. His mood was not made NOR,
cheerful by the room, which was larg,
and dark, and paneled with oak, ant
ornamented with battered oil-portraitl
of dead and gone worthless, with whom
he claimed some kinship more or les,
remote. who seemed to stare at hin
tonight in q particularly ghostly no
to say wooden .mann6f Besides al
this, he was In love; and he had M
sooner built magnificent castle--il
the air-and placed her in it, than al
any thing but airy landlord called To-
the rent, and the dream was spoiled
He had been sitting thus for som,
time, nursing his woes and slipping
glass OF hot cognac which he had pre-
pared. when he was disturbed by
loud imperative knocking at the from
door; whereat he shatehed up one 8
The gutterinR candles and marches
down the narrow stairs to open Il
Tho feebla light of the candle. whol