Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-07-22
DAILY SHORT STORY
THE MYSTERIOUS PATIENT.
[Original.l


when there was sharp ring at the
telephone 1 keep the instrument with
in reach OF my pillow and seized the
receiver.
Doctor. my nurse is killing me. III
you DON'T
There was a click, and after that ST.
lence. / had been shut off. l rang
and called Hello and Central at
last getting a reply from Central" of
whom 1 asked with whom 1 had been
in communication; but the girl at the
Office couldn't tell me.
was too much discomposed to lie in
bed with the thought of one of my pa
tients being murdered by a nurse whom
/ had recommended Il recommend all
the nurses employed in my cases., so
l got up, lighted the gas and waited,
hoping for another call. The voice was
more like that of woman than n man,
but what woman l could not tell. L
have large practice and so many pa
tents that il would be considerable of
an effort 10 go over the list with a view
to studying probabilities. l gradually
subsidized 10 the opinion that there had
been some mistake in the call and en-
my mind. After an hours waiting l
turned in again and finally fell asleep.
awoke before daylight and lay
thinking over the matter of my strange
telephone MESA &c. At that hour when
one is rested after n nights sleep and
all is yet quiet, the brain is clearer than
ut any other time. l reviewed all my
patients, but not one of them was like
her nurse. Patients sometimes turn
against their nurses for some reason.
usually because the nurse chooses to
become dOmineCring. l was forced 10
the opinion that this was one of those
cases and resolved in my round of Wis
its that day TO keep my eyes open with
this in view.
l breakfasted and started earlier
than usual, proposing to spend addi-
tional time in discovering who had call
ed me. Nevertheless, though was eX-
trcmely watchful, / failed to detect
the slightest discord between any Of
my patients and the nurse in charge.
During the night the telephone bell
rang. put the receiver TO my ear, and
a voice was saying, Doctor. doctor.
doctor pitifully. We'll" / said.
whereupon the voice continued, My
nurse is killing me-" There was
click and no more words. nor did / sue
coed 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 l called sent the nurse out of the
room and asked the patient If she was
1
them answered in the affirmative ex-
ccpt one or two, who. though they were
| not especially pleased with their at
PENDANTS, were not disposed to change
| them. None of them intimated that her
nurse was ill treating or killing her l
went home feeling very much discour-
| aged with my investigation. The next
| day, of twelve nurses 1 had asked to
| leave the room while l interviewed the
| patient they attended. seven asked 10
| be relieved of their duties. AS every
| doctor needs good nurses, | was very
much troubled. / asked them all to re-
main mt their posts till l could explain
| my action, and | then went TO detec-
| tive office, related the circumstance and
| asked if they had man who would
| ferret out the case. One of their num-
| Der was assigned the duty, and l dis
| missed the matter from my mind.
l was not called up again 10y the
mysterious patient. but / learned aft
| crward that the detective left instruc-
| lions with the central office whenever
| was called To call him first. If the
call was not unusual was then called.
Two days after my visit to the de
teCtive office | received a note that if
the next night | should go to a house
| occupied by a gentleman whose fam
| lily physician / had once been | would
| receive an explanation of my singular
| calls. Before going to bed | went to
/ the house in question, where | met the
detective. He took me upstairs TO a
bedroom and there left me, and heard
| him carry something into 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 a time without speaking.
l heard nothing in the other room ex-
| Ccpt a grating as of something against
| metal. Suddenly there was n click 1t
| was the raising Of a telephone receiver,
| and 4 cracked voice said, Il want DR..
| Scarborough" Since / am the doctor
referred 10 l was somewhat astonished.
| The call for Or. Scarborough was re
pcated cit occurred To me that Central
| was asking for the NUMBER till at last
| heard a ring and then: Doctor. doc
! tor, my nurse IS killing me, II yOu
| don't take her away / 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 patient of yours was here de
| lirious and convinced that her nurse
was trying to kill her. The bird re-
| pea tedly heard you rung up on the teIe-
nhone and Iistened for weeks to The