The daily Alaskan., 1904-05-11
H MYSTERIOUS PATENT
fOriginall

in reach of my pillow and seized the receiver.
 Doctor, my nurse Is killing me. If you don't"-
 There was a click, and after that sl- lence. I had been shut or. 1 rang and called "Hellog' and "Central| at last getting a reply from Central" of whom asked with whom had been in communication; but the girl at the office couldn't tell me.
 1 was too much discompOsed to lie ln bed with the thought of one of my pa tents being murdered by nurse whom I had recommended q recommend all the nurses employed in my cases), so I got up, lighted the gas and waited, hoping for another call. The voice was more like that of a woman than man, but what woman I could not tell. l have a large practice and so many pa tients that it would be considerable of an effort to go over the list with a view to studying probabilities. I gradually subsided to the opinion that there had been some mistake in the call and en- deavored to dismiss the matter from my mind. After an hours waiting l turned in again and finally fell asleep.
 l awOke before daylight and Icy thinking over the matter of my strange telephone message. At that hour, when one Is rested after a nights sleep and all is yet quiet, the brain is clearer than at any other time. I reviewed allsmy patients, but not one of them was like ly to have cause to be dissatisfied with her nurse Patients sometimes turn against their nurses for some reason, usually because the nurse chooses to become dOmlneering. I was forced to the opinion that this was one of those cases and resolved in my round of visS it's that day to keep my eyes open with this in view.
 l breakfaSted and started earlier than usual proposing to spend addi. tioual time in discovering who had call, ed me. Nevertheless, though | was eX. trcmely watchful, I failed to detect the slightest discOrd between any of my patients and the nurse in charge.
 During the night the telephone bell rang. I put the receiver to my ear, and a voice was saying, Doctor, doctor, doctorr pitifully. Well" l said, whereupon the voice continued, My nurse Is killing mer There was a click and no more words, nor did l sue. Ceed In getting the voice again.
 made up my mind the next day to interview every woman patient of mine without her nurse being present Wher- ever called sent the nurse out of the room and asked the patient if she was satisfied with her attendant. All of them answered in the affirmative eX- cept one or two. who, though they were not especially pleased with their att tendants, were not disposed to change them. None of them intimated that her nurse was in treating or killing her. went home feeling very much discour- aged with my investigation. The next day, of twelve nurses had asked to leave the room while I interviewed the patient they attended, seven asked to be relieved of their duties. As every doctor needs good nurses, l was very much troubled. l asked them all to re maln at their posts till I could explain my action, and I then went to detec. tive office, related the circumstance and asked If they had man who would ferret out the case. One of their mum Der was assigned the duty, and I dis missed the matter from my mind.
 was not called up again by the mysterious patient, but I learned aft erward that the detective left instruc- Hons with the central office whenever I was called to call him first. If the call was not unusual was then called. Two days after my visit to the de- tectiye office received a note that 1T the next night I-should go to house occupied by a gentleman whose fam ny physician I had once been l would receive an explanation of my singular calls. Before going to bed 1 went to the house in question, where l met the detective. He took me upstairs to a bedroom and there left me, and heard him carry something into a room ad- joining. This done, he came in through a door which he left open, putting a finger on his lips to insure silence.
 We sat for time without speaking. I heard nothing in the other room ex- cept a grating as of something against metal Suddenly there was click. IL was the raising of a telephone receiver, and a cracked voice said, "I want Dr. Scarborough" Since I am the doctor referred to l was somewhat astonished. The call for Dr. Scarborough was re peated Git occurred to me that "CentraF was asking for the numberl till at last I heard a ring and then: Doctor, doe tor, my nurse is killing me, If you don't take her away l shall die.' This in part was repeated several times. Then there was a click, The detective went into the adjoining room and call ed on me to follow.
 There, hopping about, was a huge parrot, the only occupant of the room.
 This parrot" said the detective, ''Oc- cupied the adjoining room to this one when a patient of yours was here de llrious and convinced that her nurse was trying to -.ill her. The bird re peatedly heard you rung up on the tele- nhona and listened for weeks to the