Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-04-15

cried he, as he seized my hand in
spite of me and felt my pulse, while
at the same time he ran profess
sional eye over my face with great
rapidity. ut strikes me, young man,
your father would have done better
to put you under the care of med
ical man in the country than to let
you come out, dependent on your
own resources"
| And as he spoke he threwa glance Of
| displeasure at a tumbler containing
whisky and water which was within
my reach.
"Oh, Pm all right" said 1. 1.-THE
| creaking door lasts the longest, you
know, doctor"
/ "But there's no need for you to be
q creaking door," retorted DR.. Mullion,
quickly. you ought to go back NOV
i ing smoothly on the hinges, and that
you'll not do SO unless you're more
prudent. If l dared, I'd throw that
stuff into the sea for you"
And again he looked at my chosen
beverage. I laughed.
Come, doctor, it's not such bad
thing, in moderation. We're not all
like your stoical nephew, teetotallers
on principle"
DR.. Mullion shook his head.
mo need to sheer at Dick" said he.
Its poverty, not principle, that makes
q teetotaller of him. He has an idea,
and l can't help honoring the lad for
it, that until he's quite independent
and established in the world he ought
to put some check upon himself in the
matter Of luxuries.''
well, that's very nice of him. said
!. rather grudgingly. trying to keep
out of my voice anything like sheer.
| / did not care to have this Dick all
ways cracked up as my superior, now
by one person and now by another.
"Of course it is. The boys dear
fellow"
But the good doctor was more occu-
pied, at the moment, with me and my
symptoms than with his nephew and
his virtues. He made me show him my
tongue and answer his questions, and
some of these were so apt that l, who
had had, unfortunately, good deal of
experience OF doctors, knew that / was
in the hand of very clever one. He
knew, without my telling him, that my
heart was weak, and told me other
things which convinced me of his capa-
bilities.
Are you taking anything in the way
of medicine?" he began. But he i'm
mediately answered his own question,
without leaving me time to speak.
mo, of course you're not. You prefer
the whisky and water
AS he said this, with shrewd smile
on his face, his nephew came up with
q magazine the doctor had asked for.
Rather to my surprise, Dick, who GER
tainly had no particular rea son, one
would have thought, for seeking my So
ciety, drew chair up, sat down, and
| Joined in the conversation.
But instead of talking about medi-
cine, he tried to draw me out on the
subject of books. He seemed quite anx-
ious to place himself on q friendly
footing with me, and talked rather
we'll, as it seemed to me, on the sub
ject Of Oxford, and then about q couple
OF novels which had been all the go that
season.
The odd thing was that, under all
this friendliness, seemed to feel that
he was acting less from inclination
than from some sense OF necessity or
OF duty.
1t wasall q little puzzling, but I was In
terested enough to talk, too; and the
old doctor soon dropped into the role
OF listener. sitting back in his deck
chair, tapping his fingers together, and
nodding his head with great apprecia-
ton when his nephew made any re-
mark he considered just and striking.
Presently, as matter Of course, the
talk came around to the subject of
marriage, upon which our views were
very different, he taking much more
favorable view than of the institu-
ton.
"Then why don't you marry" I
was moved to say at last, with Just
that touch of superiority in my tone
that the cynic always takes in con-
versation.
Dicks face changed suddenly,
SAS00SA OvSAS Az ASaSV, WILL 4GS uSUdl
look of somewhat sullen heaviness.
Cant afford It," he replied briefly.
And he rose as he spoke, with an
evident wish to cut short the con-
versation. But the doctor broke in
almost sharply:
Cant afford it! You can afford to
marry anyone, anyone! You'll have
my money when die; and though I
know you wish me q good many
years Of life, in the nature Of things
that's not possible or desirable. So,
to all intents and purposes, Dick.
you're well-to-do, if not rich man"
Now, it was one Of the most ex-
traordinary things I had ever seen
to watch the way in which Dick Null
hon took these words Of his uncle's.
It was evident to me, who could see
something of his face, though the
doctor could not, that the affection
ate speech of the old man caused him
not only distress, but something like
acute terror. He would have cut it
short if he could. But the doctor,
who saw in the young mans gestures
only the natural impulse of CRATE
full heart, went on serenely with his
speech, and wound up with a gentle