Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-10-17
A STRANGE COMPACT.
How the Surgeon Saved His Pc
TENT From Death. -.,

How the Surgeon Saved His Pa
tient From Death. ,
1t was dreary night in the winter
of IL. Outside heavy fog filed the
narrow. unsavory streets of the me-
tropolis. and the lungs and eyes of such
unfortunates as CHANGED to be abroad.
Il even invaded the 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. a light.
warmish haze being the only indica-
ton of the presence of those shops
which still remained open, and round
which small, ill-clad urchins, with the
most uumistakable intentions, persist
emily lowered.
"a sweet night for foot-pads," NUT
tered young DR.. Mostyn. as he olsen
gagged himself from chance rencontre
with post and felt his way along by
tapping with his stout stick at the
house-walls. proceeding by which he
had already damaged the legs of three
of his suffering fellow-creatures, and
poked a large hole in the kitchen win
dow of a fourth. "And now" he con-
tinued, talking to himself for the sake
OF company, ''for home and supper and
a fire. All. and a patient or two. per-
haps. Who knows?"
re oh npiv hi &c
rose, and he banged nightly at the
wall with his stick in consequence,
until at length, coming to a small
street on his right, he turned smartly
down. and having made sure of his
own door. knocked briskly at it,
who's there?" cried shrill female
voice in response.
''1t's /, Bet, said her master. "Open
the door, my good girl"
''Not 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, Bet" roared her
master through the keyhole. Don't
you know me?"
prOpounded the damsel; because, if
it's eleven o'clock. my eyes deceive me;
and if it's nine o'clock, your voice de-
celves me; for the doctor said he'd be
home at eleven and not before; and
considering the fog, 1 should say a.
good deal arter."
open the door," said the surgeon.
sharply. I'm back already because
my patients dead. Come; open at
oncew
There was a creaking and shooting
of bolts as he finished speaking; and
the door being cautiously opened, dis
covered an angular woman of some
five-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; "but ole
never knows who's who; and Judging
by the noises and trimmings, there's
been rare doings round the corner to-
night" fa-
Amy body been. Bet?" asked the
surgeon. as. ten minutes later, he sat
down to a carefully grilled chop.
mot a soul" replied his hand
maiden.
''And nice person you would be to
open the door. if an accident had ar
rived"
.'Oh. should have opened it at
once" said Bet. with decision. ..Di-
rectly they used the word .acci-
dent l should have opened it and
CHANGED it."
Her master. smiling at her devo-
tion, drew his chair to the fire, and
having carefully filed a long clay
pipe. fell to smoking with an air of
great enjoyment and content. Then,
thinking it extremely unlikely that he
would be disturbed at that late hour,
he dismissed his retainer to her quar-
tiers in a ueighboring house. and being
lett to himself. lapsed into a brown
study.
1t might have been the fog, or it
might have been the unexpected death
Oh MS patient; whatever the cause. his
thoughts took very gloomy direction
indeed, and he shook his head despond-
1ngiy as ne thought of his future pros
poets. His mood was not made more
cheerful by the room, which was LARGE
and dark. and paneled with oak and
ornamented with battered oil-portraits
OF dead and gone worthless. with who,,
he claimed some kinship more or less
remote. who seemed to stare at him
tonight In q particularly ghostly not
20 say wooden manner. Besides all
this, he was La love; and he had no