Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-08-17


had recognized the speaker. His voice. raised
| from the ordinary conversational tone. was
! deep and sonorous, qualities emphasized by The
! echoing crags above.
He spoke again. and his hearers observed
| h1skiness and broken utterance. like one who
| battles agalrs a growing physical weakness.
! principles of right-that must appeal-as man
| to man? Do you think-I-would join such
movement-ifI didn't know-it was in the in
| terests of justice? Don't let us have any more
bloody work tonight: McCrary, You said once
| you d do anything for me. Don't fire again
| on unarmed men! Let me be the frst-and the
| last VICTIM
He was sinking in the arms of one who stood
beside him. Blood was dreuching his garments
| and forming pool upon the ground at his feet.
| AT his last words Mike McCrary flung his rife
backwards into the deep pool, and they heard
| splash as it struck the water and sank.
he leaped down from the dam and forced his
| way to the side of the injured man. None who
! heard him ever forgot his bitter cry;
"Oh, my God! I've killed the Doctor They
made quick work of the dam after that. Long
! before morning the Brook was Iippling down
the canon, its old glad self, distributing its
| bounty throughout the valley and cheering the
| face of all the country.
| CHAPTER xxv1-rHE pocToR's STORY.
f'Why, Mike, understand. You thought it
was your duty. You don't know me. Don't
take on so, Mike. If anyone had to go it is bet
Gee y Sn0nio Dc me- l nA'e-n0 one 70 Hiss
"No one to miss him. What a murmur of
contradiction arose. Who would be SO sorely
| missed by all the country?
Its nothing serious,'' insisted the doctor
weakly. ''It'Il be all right in a week or
Now take place at the h ad where the heaviest
over this rough road -
When the! got him home. thuse who knew the
doctors radical precepts were still surprised
that he should decline their proposal to tele-
graph for ano' her physician:
II understand my case BEST he insisted.
Med is to be my chief nurse, and McCrary Will
assist him. Now, friends, do not be offended if
l thank you all and ask you to leave me. !
must prescribe rest and quiet for my patient"
| utes after the men had gone away. The sleeping
room to which they bad carried him was fur
nished with the utmost simplicity. On the gray
tinted walls was single picture, painting of a
| woman, evidently copied from a miniature. The
serious beauty of the highbred face arrested
Ned's attention. He had never seen face that
| could com pare with it, yet there was something
| in the expression of the mournful eyes that was
| peculiarly saduening.
| He was relieved when the doctor finally spoke
and he could withdraw his gaze from the fair
| face with its sad wistful eyes.
Med Marshall didn' t tell the whole truth
| that night at the campfire. He CLOSED over
| facts. came out of the army suffering with
painful neuralgia trouble. the result Of gun
shot wound. took opium to ease the pain.
When got the better OF the disease L was
slave to the drug.
81 had wife, and afterward little daugh-
ter. They were dearer to me than my own soul;
but man who once becomes enSlaved by that
accursed habit would pledge his own soul for a
We thought she would not get well. l took
| larger and larger doses. 1t helped me not to
care. sank lower and lower: had no money.
Ny credit was gone. was mad for
thing. robbed the little saving,
bank that belonged to our. dying child. She
my wife-saw me. She pointed to the door. I
went out into the night an abashed, God-for-
saken creature. l SLEPT under the trees in the
public park that night thought the child was
dead, but then and tn ere swore to free myself
from that pernicions habit or die in the attempt.
/ started out INTO the country. can tell you
the horrors 1 went through; 1 walked, walked,
walked; worked in the field. 1t was seed time
when started out and harvest time when was
through. was cured. But couldn't go back.
Med, IN not in the best bodily condition.
and this injury is going to bring back that old
trouble. I'm afraid of myself. There's a bot
tie of arsenic and bottle of morphine, side by
side on the shelf in my cabinet in the next
room"
;"I'll 60 and empty out the mOrphine-burn it
a contemptuous expression fitted over the
DOCTORS face.
1.-The principle on which they are trying to
run three-fourths of the reformatory institutions
in the country he said dryly. ''As If any
lasting good could ever be accomplished without
strengthening mans moral nature. No, Ned.
Let the bottles stand there; only, it worst comes
to worst, if am so weak as to beg for the opiate,
frst. :"
The hero of many battles had one more to
fight, and it was battle unto the death.
He spoke once more to Ned, in weak, failing
voice.
''If should get pretty low, Ned-so far gone
that there seems to be no other hope, l suppose
DR.. Thompson had better be called in Just at
the last. for decency's sake. 1 don't want to go
out of the word-and leave-a reputation for
pig headed obstinacy-behind me. But mind;
no opiates, even if he prescribes them
81 don't believe you would take them if he
gave them to you. You underrate your own
moral courage, DR.. john said Ned earn
estly.
''You don't know Ned,'' said the doctor,
weakly. Only a physician knows what cow
ardiy, tyrnnnic forces these bodies OF ours are:
how they buffet and COW the soul. Stronger
men than 1 have given up. Stronger men
than -
~ don't believe human body ever held
stronger SOUL cried Ned in a burst of enthu-
siasm.
Thus the doctor glided into the heat OF the
awful conflict that disease about to wage
with the spirit for the possession of its abused
and worn out tenement.
After all it was Ned whose courage weakened
not the doctor.
One day there came upon the sufferer fright
Gul paroXysm OF pain.
Ned forgot his promise, forgot everything
save that before him was Iying his best friend,
suffering as it seemed no mortal could long suf-
fer and live. while near at hand was a remedy
that would silence the pain and bring him re-
lief.
He rushed into the next room, seized the bot
tie and returned to DR.. Johns bedside with it IL
his hand. Had he known the proper dose he
would have measured it out; but he could only
hold it out TO DR.. John and beg him to take it,
A look of fearful longing, mingled with ter
ror, Bhone in the sick mans eyes they fell on
the drug. Then he raised his clinched fist and
tremb ing smote the bottle from the young
man hand.
Back fell the sufferer on the pillow. A deadly
torpor stole over body and mind. His muscles
relaxed; his limbs grew limp and motionless.
No need of opiates now. Ned's frantic de-
mands for some token that the doctor still rec
ognized him brought no response. The boys
task ended.
Ned found Mike waiting below. They stared
at each other, trying to find words for what
they felt and courage to pronounce them.
''Is--is 1t that?'' Numbered Mike at last.
Eyes, Mike, am afraid
''Any man but him! If it had been any man
but himi'' Mike finally broke out. ''What'u
the valley do without himH Who is there to take
his place!'
'.That reminds me, Mike,'' said Ned hastily,
81 was to send for old DR.. Thompson in case
this-in case the worst happened. Will you
carty word now?"
when Ned had taken up post in the sick room,
Hope had hastily packed in vallse such articles
as She thought he would need, and carried it to
him herself. As she handed it to him, she had
given him four folded silk handkerchiefs, pres
ents from All Wing on as many successive Chi
nese New Years.
Ned she had said. 1--WE shall all want to !
know how the doctor is getting along oftener |
than we can send or come. Keep one of these |
handkerchiefs hanging out of the upper window |
that looks towards the brook, The blue one if |
he is worse, the white if he is better the red
one II he will surely, surely get well. And oh, |
Ned-the black one IL there is no hope"
In the early dawn, after Mike had gone on his |