Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1900-08-22
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. HA operating theater was packed

0S A0 operating tneeter was pacKe0l
with loskers-on.
Mr.. Aenzies' operations were
far-famsd. Pending the arrival Of the
patient from the anaesthstic room on
the other side Of the passage. the great
surgeon stood washing his hands and
talking to his dresssrs.
An enthusiast himself, he always In
spired his suberdinates with enthnsi'
asm and his daring and sucoess as0ln
operator made him the envy and ad-
miration Of all his juniors.
Hb hne but stern face relaxed into q
smile over the naive remarks Of one Of
the students. and a little laugh even
broke from his lips. 1t was unusual
for Mr.. Menzies to laugh; he was
known as a grave. silent man. and the
lines of his face were severe. though
there was a great kindliness In his keen
gray eyes, and his rare smile was par
ticularly charming. The world In which
he moved knew we'll enough what II
was that had carved the sternness into
what had been 80 pleasant and bright
. face. knew what had caused the look
In his eyes which never wholly left
them.
The world had been loud In its COM
miserati0n, a year before, when Mr..
Menzies' wife had left him and their
S-year-old daughter for another man,
| who had been the great surgeons
friend. Equally loud in its expressed
sympathy. but the surgeon had made
all such expressions an impossibility.
To no living soul had he ever spoken
of the blow which had ruined his hap
piness. and no living soul had even
ventured to touch upon the subject to
| him.
He faced life sternly now, instead of
smiliugiy AZ before. that was all; and
he Aung himself, heart and mind. into
his profession. giving apparently NO
thought to anything beyond 1t, except
to his small daughter.
The child went with him every.
where, and was even now sitting In
the carriage. in the hospital courtyard.
gravely and intently scanning. the peo-
pie who passed to and fro in the full
sunshine.
There was a sudden hushing Of the
busy talk in the operating theater. as
the patient was wheeled in and lifted
upon the table, and the surgeon moved
forward.
Patient quite ready, SIR" said the
house surgeon respectfully.
The surgeon did not even glance at
the face of the man upon the table. but
proceeded to examine the seat OF the
injury. asking q few terse questions as
he did so.
Game in early this morning. you
sayT
Eyes, sir, only just conscious enough
to tell us he was run over"
Poor fellow! well it is quite obvi.
ous what must be DONE 1t Is a case
Of life or death. The only chance Of
saving him is to operate at once"
The clear. decided voice could be
heard all over the theater. the strong,
| steady hands were watched eagerly
from every corner as they began their
tainty Of touch.
For q quarter of an hour Mr. Menzies
worked on in silence, broken only by
an occasional short word to the dresser
beside him.
As usual he was absorbed In the task
before him, every other thought for the
moment relegated to the back Of his
mind Outside. In the courtyard. his
little daughter sat In the carriage
watching the pigeons strutting to and
fro In the sunshine, and the people who
passed in and out Of the great doors,
watched over herself by the coachman.
who adored every hair of the curly
head, and worshiped the ground that
/ was walked upon by her tiny feet.
There was nothing the small girl en-.
| 5oyed more than coming to the hospital
ito wait for father" 1t gave her a de-
| lightful sensation Of being grown up.
added to the delight Of the long drive
sitting beside father, and holding his
hand and chatting to him upon the
many and varied incidents Of the routei
| She glanced up at the windows and
wondered where father was just that
very minute, and whether he would
come soon. Then she turned her eyes
back again to the pigeons in the sun.
shine, strutting boldly up and down
! underneath the feet Of the passers-by
Upstairs, in the theater, there was q
breathless silence.
| The most critical moment Of the
operation had been reached. when the
surgeon paused for moment to
| glance up the table at the face Of the
patient, and to ask a question Of the
house surgeon.
But the question was only half ut.
tered, his words broke or suddenly,
and a student, more observant than
his fellows. noticed what a curious
| grayness overspread his face.
Something gone wrong over the an
| aesthetic" the thought flashed through
| the students brain, but even as the
! flash of thought came. he saw Mr..
Menzies pull himself together with a
him say quietly:
! Patient all right, LettesdaleT
J "Quite right, sir" The house sur
geon's voice was brisk and confident.
The student wondered idly what had
made the usually calm Mr.. Meme
break of in that sudden, Irrelevant
manner, then his wonderings were for
| gotten in the absorbing interest of the
| operation.
The surgeon had turned quietly back
to his work, and, with steady fingers
that never faltered or wavered. was
going on with his task. But his soul
was In a tumult; his brain was on fire.
The helpless man lying before him-the
man whose life lay in his hands-was
the friend who one short year before
| had stolen from him his wife and his
happiness, the friend who had been
worse than an open enemy. Some long
forgotten words swung through his
brain as his fingers moved mechanical