The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1897-11-11
A CASE IN EQUITY.
BY FRANCIS LYNDE.
lcopyrrhi. 's0s. by J. D. Lipplnoou Col
BY FRANCIS LYNpE.
l..
ONE WAY TO CURE ENNu1.

N WAY TO CURE ENNuI.
Just say that over again, will you,
doctor? I don't think | quite took in
the length I'M breadth of it,
Thorndyke was in his shirt-sIeeyes
u he reached mechanically for his
on and vest when the physician re-
placed the stethoscope mon its kips-
men in the glass case.
II said that your condition is very
,ritical"-the concern IN DR.. pereyin's
soice was too real to he professional:
that il We don't look out you'n slim
away from MS as your Uncle Granville
did,
Granville Thorndyke had died of
quick consumption when his nephew
vas a boy of ~, and Philip had n very
vivid recollection of the strong mans
stecple-chase down the road To emacia-
ton and death. 1t seemed incredible
that such a thing could happen to him.
lie sat down and tried to realize il,
iteaiizing is usually a methodical
process, but when a man believes he
has just heard his d~eath-sentence pro-
ounce it is apt IN be different. Thorn
dykes mind skipped the intermdiate
steps and arrived at the end Of things
with n shock that Jared him out of his
usual habit of indifference.
For Gods se..Se, doctor! Do You
know-but Of course you don't; no man
a really put himself in another's
place when It comes to the pinch"
Not wholly, perhaps; and yet l can
tell you it isn't pleasant to be a prophet
of evil. Hadn't you any hint of your
dangerg"
Not the least in the world. Why.
I'm here now only because the mother
and Helen insisted upon my coming.
And | cam take it in yet; I'm not sick
I've never had a twinge ora symptom
worth mentioning"
THAT may be; the trouble frequently
begins SCI stealthily as to give but little
warning. Your uncle reached your age
without suspecting that he had the
disease, and then. as you remember. he
died within the year.
Yes, | know all about it, assented
the young man, moodily, "and now ]
know why mother was so anxious"
He got up and walked ~nervously back
and forth in front of the physician,
with his hands behind him and his head
down. IF anybody lad told me / was
such a coward / shouldn't nave be
lieved it, doctor. This thing has come
so suddenly that I'm all at sea. What
il there to be done? or is there anything
TO be done?"
The physician shook his head. TAX
ing it for granted hat you want the
plain fact, I'm afraid the chances are
against you. Sometimes n complete
change of scene, climate, and habit will
work the miracle that would seem to be
necessary in a case like yours, but it is
only fair to warn you that such an ex-
pertinent might only shorten your life"
"A sort of forlorn hope reioined
T~horndyke. Nevertheless, i think I'll
try it, not so much on my own account
us because-Doctor, where should ! GO,
and how long a time can l counton?"
Answering your last question first
Il don't know; no one can say positive
ly; but unless You get help almost inn
mediately the disease is likely to de-
'NioP WY thBiNi1s u Siiouiu hhs tiia'
six months would tell the story, one
way or the other; though il might take
longer. And as to the place, there isn't
much choice, SO long rs you get an even
temperature and pleasant surround
ings. l nave considerable faith in the
climate of the southern end of the Blue
Ridge; but you must live out of doors
il you go there"
six months; something less than 20o
days. That ought to give a man tiI:.c
enough to make his peace; many a poor
devil gets less than that many minutes
or seconds. And yet there are some
things hat can't well he settled in a
short half year"
:You are thinking of your engage
ment to Helen?"
"Ies; that, and the property and
my mothers grief and worry, and a
hundred other things that were not of
the least consequence an hour ago"
He too his hat and paused in the door
way. Doctor, / wish you wouldn't
say anything about this-at least, not
just yet. Don't tell the mother or
Helen, l mean"
Certainly not"
Thank you. I'll see you again be-
fore l go, that is, If il seems worth while
10 make the experiment."
An hour earlier in the day, Philip
Thorndyke had sauntered into the YES
tibule of the great Office building with
the thought that u visit TO DIR. Perevin
would answer the double purpose of re-
lieving his mothers anxiety. and of
enabling him 10 wear out a half-honr of
the afternoon in a that with the old
family physician; and he went the more
willingly since the h~alf-hours had of
late taken to dragging rather ~discourag-
ingly, especially in the afternoons.
That they dragged was due 10 number
nf causes. the chief of which was that
Thorndyke was an unsuccessful idler.
His father had been a hard-work-
ing attorney, gathering and leav-
ing an estate which would have
been a fortune elsewhere than in
New York. and which was n com
petence even in that city of mil
lionaires. The will gave Philip half,
and the irksomeness of its possession
had not made itself felt until after his
postgraduate course in the law had
left him a squire of danes, and lack
ing the spur of necessity which might
have made him successful in his pro-
f--sA. H.. 90 tha tnAn,of xxhAn hA