Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1896-10-08

$50 kind of you, DR.. Norris, so very,
very kind,'' she began-"sok kind to come
so soon. Really, 1 was in despair. yes.
in abject despair, until heard that you
were physician. I am so i'll, SO mis-
erably i'll. doctor, and the ships sur
geon misjudges my case so terribly.
Would you believe it-can you be-
lieve it?-hc actually tried to humbug
me into thinking that I was well, per-
fectly well. And H.
She fell back upon her pillows, as if
overpowered by the remembrance of
her sufferings. Yet in a moment she
was again sitting up and pouring into
my ears torrent of words. She was a
tall woman, thin, though not emaciated,
very nervous, and one of the most
voluble persons it was ever my fate to
encounter. Her age was not far from
As years.
In spite of her repeated assertions
that she was very i'll, and the evident
faith she put in them, it was clear that
Mrs. Loring might as well have been
on deck as in her state-room. An I'M
due indulgence in certain triumphS Of
the ships pastry-cook, and an over
taxed digestion, would explain her all
but herself. The surgeons view of the
matter, expressed rather brusquely,
had served to convince the lady that he
was a brute. Perhaps had she been
lone traveller she might have had oc
casion to put me in the same category;
but, with one thought for her and two
for her niece, I listened patiently to the
tale of sorrow and agony.
well. Mrs. Loring," said I, when the
opportunity came, 81 think I have
diagnosed your case. With your CO.
operation, We'll have you well again
long before this voyage is over. I'll
prepare some medicine which I think
will be effective. / shall have to ask
you to put yourself on restricted diet,
in order that the delicate chemical
changes which count upon the medi-
:ine to produce as an aid to the diges-
tive ferments may progress under the
most favorable conditions. The dose
will be teaspoonful just half an hour
before each meal. So accurately calcu-
lated are the effects that must ask you
to follow the directions to the minute.
The slightest variation in the time may
utterly destroy the efficacy of the
drugs
"Oh, you may rely upon me, doctor,
she cried, delightedly. 81 understand
you perfectly-yes, perfectly. To the
minute, to the very minute, the medi-
cine shall be taken. Oh, doctor, doctor,
il is a comfort, such a comfort, to see
that you understand my trouble so
thoroughly-yes,s so thoroughly. Now,
that surgeon
But I bowed myself out of the state
room, and fastened in search of the
official medicine-man, who, it must be
admitted, learned with entire satisfac-
ton that another had assumed charge
of Mrs. Loring's case. Moreover, he
cheerfully assisted in the preparation
of the medicine for her use. It was
warranted to be harmless; it tasted
much as if little sugar had been dis
solved in generous quantity of wa
ter. AS it met the patients craving for
doses, however, and as she was up and
about again in the course of few days,
it may be said to have accomplished it's
benevolent purpose.
In the meantime Miss Gray and 1
were getting on famously. We walked
the deck together, we hazarded small
bets on the steamers daily run, and we
shared in the somewhat limited list of
mid-ocean amusementS. While the
moonlight evenings lasted we gave the
Queen of Night every chance in the
world to exercise her mischievous sway;
but for once, at least, her powers failed.
l do not mean to suggest that our con-
versation was always coldly matter-of-
fact. A vein of sentiment ran through
it at times, but on the whole we kept
well within the bounds of everyday
friendship, which for two young per-
sons placed as we were approached the
remarkable. There were condolences
exchanged, to be sure, or, to speak more
precisely, she heard a good deal Of my
experiences and hopes and she confded
to me little of hers. 1t may be that
the difference was due to the subtle
power she possessed of arousing in
others faith of the sort which leads to
such confessions. Thus it came to pass
that she acquired fairly accurate idea
of the life had led and of the problems
which confronted me, while I learned
only the outlines of her story. Her
parents were dead, and for the last
dozen years she had been with her
aunt, who was a childless widow.
Never the possessor of vigorous health,
Mrs. Loring had gradually worried her
self into the conviction that she was
mere physical wreck. Having no