The Delta independent. [volume] (Delta, Colo.) 1886-19??, 1897-07-14
ny NfIhhIAH T. NICHOLS.
.copysisht. ,sss. BY }. 3. upsineott Corrary.


would result in opening her eyes to
the truth that she needed no physician.
And when that discovery was made.
how long would she and her niece tarry
in that quiet ncighborhood?
The weather about this time took a
turn for the worse; for 4s hours n
dense fog hung over the coast. 1t
thinned somewhat by the third morn
ing. The banks of mist were drifting
seaward when l plodded across the
rlain to the house on the knoll. Lamar,
who was awaiting me in the living-roon,.
appeared to be giving himself up to
idleness. for there were no books on the
table at which he sat, and he seemed
to be unusually willing to engage in dcs-
ultory chat. After n little, he tod
well for some weeks. and that the de-
pressing weather had aggravated his
trouble.
To stranger he would have looked
sick nan, but perhaps association
had blunted my perceptions in his case.
and his words surprised me. Assured
ly he was no weaker than on the night
when he first came to me. If there
had been any change, it had been an
Improvement. The old air of the fu-
gitive had in great part disappeared.
though he still gave one the impression
Of continual vigilance.
He described his symptoms with his
habitual deliberatencss, closing the nc-
count with q statement that he believed
his heart to be affected seriously, and
that he desired me TO examine him Mt
once.
your diagnosis" said I, when the task
had been accomplished. 'Thcre Is car
diac trouble. 1t is far advanced"
''Its character?"
.valvular. should like q consulta-
tion at once"
"Of what advantage?'' he asked. ms
coolly rs IL he were not discussing his
own death sentence. ''Thc disease is
mortal. Treatment cannot cure it,"
"Dut it may prolong life" urged.
Besides. IL is only fairness to yourself
to have an experts opinion. Take my
advice"
Pardon, but must decline to do so.
I am content with your skill unnidcd.
1t il o confirmation of my own suspicion.
The end is not SO much; have thu.
warning-it is oil desire"
He was silent for little. this strange
being, his expression unchanged, HIS
self-control absolute. When at last he
spoke there was NO hint Of emotion in
his voice os he asked the question I
dreaded to hear.
'How long may I. in reason. count
.upon?"
II cannot tell you definitely" I an
swered. 1T may be . year. two years.
three years; It may be tomorrow. A
shock, a"
II comprehend. But, undisturbed,
what time do the odds favor?"
'SiN months. But IL is no more than
the widest guesswork."
Again there was q pause. Presently
he asked:
OF necessity fntal?'
mo. But It would be the one chance
in ten IL it were not" knew my man
well enough to understand that he de-
sired no evasions.
"You speak from the hook" he
said, quietly; but in that I think you
wrong. I rate the chance greater"
"May you be in the right Of IT," I
said; but he made no comment upon
the hope thus expressed. Soon after,
having given a few directions for his
care Of himself, and having promised to
have a prescription for him made up
at once, I left him TO his thoughts
What they were could hardly imagine,
but hODed that n amono thrun ,~as anne
shadow Of remorse at the remembrance
OF the poor devil whom he had suf-
feresi to lie helpless for hours almost a:
his door. II was fate's irony that Of
these two men the one who then was
close to death should now be far on
the road to health, with the prospect Of
many years before him, while tie
other, who had rejoiced in his mis-
fortune, should find himself under o
sentence which knew no chance Of re-
prieve.
XIX.
After the dampness and fog came a
week Of almost tropical heat, under
which the fields grew parchcd and dull
hued and the dust lay deep on the high
ways. The breeze, when IL b,ew, was
from the land. but much Of the time
there was a calm. even more oppressive
than the heat-la<3en zephyrs. Against
ssch conditions The energies Of hut one
Of us were proof. Mr.. Loripe alone de.
fed the heat and glare and dust, going
on with her preparations for the fetc
with undiminished energy. amid u:
- A. A.