The Press., 1898-07-07
HIS TIME HAD COME.

They were five, with the guide, snug ly camped up in the. forests of the Rangeley country, and the days sport had been a trifie heavy if empty. They had done a long tramp. The broad fire- place yawned crackling comfort. Thore was soothing punch on the table and our pipes were drawing well. The talk had drifted to casualty and fatality and to the exchange of views upon the hair breadth line which divides the chance of life from that of death in peculiar cases.
 The guide told of young fellow who had been literally frightened to his death a few years before by the onrush of big bull moose which he had wound ed with his last cartridge The brute had been knocked over by a shot from the guide before it reached the boy, who, though unmarked by scar, through simple terror had lost his hold upon the spark of life. Instances were named where a fall of a few inches had brought death, and others where men had fallen distances of 50 or 60 feet only to get up and walk off unbarmed.
 The doctor had been a silent listener to all this talk and sat gazing into the glowing coals until our stories were ended. Suddenly he went to his shake down, and from beneath it drew an old and weather beaten satchel, from which, after some search, he took an envelope and returned to his chair.
 My theory is, boys, that a man lives until his time's up, and no longer, and that it makes little or no difference in his length of life what he does or doesn t do. l seldom air this theory. In fact, don't generally like to speak of death, an experience which strangely bears out my theory and which lies many years back.
 "I had just fairly settled into the business left me by an old practitioner in a small mountain town in Vermont. It was not a town of wealth or great mortality, and I was not a busy man. Still, my reading kept me occupied for the most part, and l had just enough of outside work to give me exercise and maintenance. Even then I had formed fopinions and read widely upon the doc Urine generally referred to as fatalism. I had observed nothing which contro- verted my ideas, while there had come to me much in their support. Early on blustery, stormy evening was loung- ing in my easy chair before a roaring fire, pondering over very strange dep- osition which I had just read, when my thought was interrupted by the sound of wheels and a moment later there was determined knock on the door, and I opened up. A quarryman whom knew by sight was my caller.
 "'For Gods sake, doc, he said, come over with me to the quarry and help Big Griggs out of his misery. He's got tampinC iron clean up through his head.
 "I got my case, slid ito a heavy coat and we were of. The overlook quarry wa. six miles distant and during the drive gathered particulars. Big Griggs had been drilling for heavy blast all afternoon, and had loaded for an early morning firing just before the knock off. He had been tamping down the powder charge, short time had trade him care- less and there was a prenlrture explo- sion. The tamping iron had been driven up through both jaws and through the top of the cranium al III remained in the wound. I ment~..y concluded that my driver was eith,r drawing the tale lo'erstrong through excess of excitement or else that there would be no need of my services when we reached the pa tient