Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-08-06

/ AlN.
While we physicians busted ourselves
in the room in which the injured man
lay, making such preparations as were
in our power for the grim event on the
result of which a life depended,
Dorothy Gray was driving briskly along
/ the BASKERVILLE road. The task she
had undertaken was simple. but none
the less important for that fact; she
| had merely to cover more than score
of miles in the shortest time possible.
For many girls of her acquaintance the
| undertaking woulI have been the
| easiest thing Imaginable; and with n
! good deal of envy she recalled the skill
| shown by one or two of her friends on
occasions when the moving cause was
nothing more weighty than chance to
| display prowess as a whip. Unfortun-
ately for her, she had seldom held the
reins over anything more spirited than
the lazy animals occasionally hired by
her aunt on specific guarantee that in
no way could they be started out of a
slow trot, hardly faster than the walk
for which all of them evinced strong
preference; and, although she had
gained very fair understanding of the
idiosyncrasies of the roadster in front
of her, her knowledge had the drawback
of being for the most part theoretical
Still, she had not begun the journey
without duly considering its conditions,
and, on the whole, they were favorable
to a novice. The road was good, though
here and there very narrow, as is some
times the case with rural highways;
there were no sharp pitches of the kind
to shake unframed nerves; and the
horse, so far as she knew, was utterly
unacquainted with the equine joys of
boiling. Not to press him at first
that was her plan, for much haste
might mean little speed in the end
For the first half-mile she drove al
most leisurely, but when she had
reached the top of the ridge which Dor
dered the lowlands along the shore she
frightened the reins a little, and felt in
stantly the roadster's response to the
summons. He settled down to the
work before him as if he liked it, with
the long telling strides which covered
ground with such deceptive ease. A
quarter of a mile ahead was a buck
board bearing two passengers and
drawn by a horse which, she saw as
she came closer, was trotting steadily.
IT surprised her to observe how rapid
~ she oyerhauled the other conveyance.
even when the driver, after look over
his shoulder. piled his whip with the
evident intention of giving her chase.
A few hundred yards showed him the
hopelessness of the contest. and, with
native courtesy and perhaps a shrewd
guess that his own wheels would be
the safer by allowing the stranger
generous share of the road, he pulled
his vehicle well out of the way as she
sped by him. She caught look of Gu
riosity on his face as she turned in her
seat to watch her swift progress
There was just the tinge of excite
ment in the ride to make her forget
fora time the sorry cause of it. The
coolnesS of approaching evening was
upon the land, although the sun was
still well above the horizon, and what
little breeze was stirring blew in her
face. On she went, now across plain.
now surrounding a gentle activity.
now winding along valley among the
low hills, but always with the same
smooth motion. as steady as il was
fleet. An old weather-stained farm
house sprang into view on her right.
She remembered that it was counted as
marking the halfway point of the
road. a glance at her watch showed
that, even with her slow start, she had
covered a little more than five miles
in "a minutes With Is or 10 miles yet
e be traversed this might be doing too
much; and on the next rising grade
she set herself TO the task OF slacken-
ing the speed. There was somewhat
of struggle between horse and driver.
but at last she won. More than once
was the test repeated before Bassett-
vile was reached. but when she turned
into the main street of the town her
watch told her that less than so min
utes had sutiiced to cover the last half
Of the trip.
A pretty little woman was sitting on
DIR. Fowler's doorstep as the fair mes
senger drove up. She came brisklv
to the gate, and. leaning upon it, lis
tened intently TO the girls brief ac-
count of the accident. and the urgent
need of a surgeons services.
but the doctors away" the little
woman said. "He has gone To Trent,
and l dent expect him back before
midnight I'm Mrs. Fowler. YOU know"
But can't we catch him by tele-
graphic" Dorothy asked anSiously us
there no way? The ease is SO desperate.
Isn't there anything we can do"
Mrs. Fowler shook her head NO"
she answered, regretfully, for she was
proud OF her husbands surgical skill,
Il shouldn't know where to address n
telegram, and there's no train till the
late one. Who is in charge of the case
now ?"
"Dr. Morris-that is Or. Banks.
suppose he is in charge, with DIR. Nor
ris assisting him"
"umph! DIR. Banks-I know him.