St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1901-10-26

L
time. Night after night he had sat
in that same old chair in the express
car when his work was over and
"crammed" until the whistle blew for
Peoria. More than this, his dingy
room in the Railroad hotel there had
been favorite place for study when
he turned in after the long "run" for
a few hours sleep. The precious sleep
had oftentimes been sacrificed that he
might make good recitations at col
lege the following day.
But all this was in the past. This
particular night found him senior,
and within a few weeks Of his gradu-
ation-the elimination of his own
great effort. In these closing days
Of his college career, however, new
desire had taken possession of him.
He had felt call to arms in the fierce
warfare which involves all the med
ical schools at the close Of the year
the relentless, uncompromising
struggle for hospital interneships.
True, he was not counted among
the seniors Of his own school as a
candidate for hospital honors. This,
he knew, was not because Of poor
class record, for in this respect he
stood well in the front ranks, but his
duties outside Of school had made it
impossible for him to take the "quizz
class"-the review Of the work Of the
whole school course, which occupies
during the last year the major portion
Of the attention Of those who expect
to take the competitive examinations
for the interneships. This formality,
Ralph argued with himself, need not
prevent him from entering the COM
petition when the time came. He,
too, had done a great deal Of reviewing
in quiet way, and felt fairly well
prepared for any ordinary questions
which might arise in the course Of the
examinations. But Of 'fcatch" ques-
tions he stood in awe. But who could
tell? Some would get the places and
Others would fail. He had made all
the preparation possible, considering
his condition, and why not take
chances with the rest? It might hap
pen that he would be among the lucky
ones.
So, when Ralph Holmes locked the
express car door early the next morn
ing and went to his gloomy quarters
in the Railroad hotel, it was with the
determination to take the first hos
pital examination that came along,
which would be on the following Sat-
urday, and one Of the days that he
would be in the city.
Tired though he was, Ralph did not
go to bed at once. The new excite.
ment kept him awake. Sitting down
at the table, he picked up the first
book that met his gaze. Why he did
it he did not know, but in doing SO
he followed d definite impulse
"hunch," as he was accustomed to
say. Running over it's pages in an
aimless sort Of way, and having no
thought of Studying any particular
subject, he stumbled, as it were, upon
a chapter hitherto unknown to him.
'sTumors Of the Adrenal Capsule" !" it
read.
"Well, that's new one on me, !" he
murmured, as he glanced casually
over the pages. Inasmuch as the sub
ject had never been assigned for
study, nor, to his knowledge, had any
reference been made to it in class, he
thought it might prove interesting
reading.
"It must be useless lot of stuff, !"
he murmured again, as he started to
read, cor we would have heard some
thing about it. Nothing else in par
ticular to do, though, SO guess Plljust
glance over it. Might come handy
some time
An hour later Ralph laid the book
aside and went to bed.
When Saturday came and students
from various schools gathered for the
hospital examination Ralph Holmes
was among the number. He dropped
into one Of the rear seats in careless
sort of way, but his presence caused
no little comment among the mem-
bers of his own class, who expected to
see him in the competition least Of
all others.
@What you doing here?' inquired
one.
"Oh, just happened in to see
what's going on was Ralph's indif-
ferent reply. But when he provided
himself with paper and made ready to
write the others were convinced that
he was more than looker-on.
Then came breathless silence as
tbo nsastinns wara hainor written 11nnn