Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1905-02-18
Long
Distance
NurSfnG

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

SIX months before she nau resigned
q position as under nurse In New
York hospital for that of superintend-
fnt or head nurse in hospital in the
heart of West Virginia's mining dis
trict Her predecessor had left the
staff well organized. and there was no
special work to counteract the home
sickness which naturally followed her
arrival. The biggest valid in the hos
pital was given over To typhoid pa
tients. and. in truth. they overfiowed
this ward and took possession Of three
others. Nearly every new man at the
mines yielded to typhoid sooner or
later 1t was part of the process of ac-
climation. The cases were rarely seri-
Gus. the patients uniformly stolid. The
fever ran its course. the Grimm Coal
and Coke company paid the hospital
charges. and the patients as stolidly
returned to the mines TO have part of
their wages deducted each month and
applied on this hospital account.
The deadly monotony was getting on
Marion Kents nerves. At st. Paurs
there had been no monotony. The OPP
Grating room had been the workshop
Of some of the most marvellous sur
geons i'm America There had been
fights for lives in which house doctors
and nurses had Joined hands and fall
tered not day or night.
The surest cure for Miss Kent's pres
ent mental condition was work. activ-
ity and patient who was at least In
teresting. She felt wild inclination
to go into the convalescent ward and
stir up the men, stolidly sleeping even
before the night.
At this same moment she glanced
down the road which led from the
railway station and saw that the SUI
perintendent's special car. attached to
the construction train engine, was slow
ing up 10y the water tank. A cot -as
carried out of the car. and four bear
ers brought out a limp figure swathed
in a blanket. Another typhoid patient
no doubt. probably little worse than
ordinary or the special would not have
been called into service.
She was further surprised few mo-
ments later to find herself greeting
the superintendent of the mining COM
pany.
II want you TO give this case par
ticular care. He is young Jack Stan
ton, nephew of Mr.. Grimm, president
Of our company. 1t is the same old
story of typhoid, and, though ! warn
ell Mr. Grimm that it would come, ]
feel responsible for the boy. Give
him the best nurse you have and as
much of your own time as you can
spare"
"You call him a boy?" said Miss
Kent
Yes: he is only eighteen. Between
ourselves. Grimm claims the young.
He didn't like school. and so Grimm
sent him down here to learn the coal
and coke business from the beginning.
You'll find him rather decent sort of
patient. and for heavens sake don't
let anything happen TO him. Grimm
seemed glad enough to ship the boy
on to me: but. just the same, l don,
imagine he will be any too gentle with
me IL anything goes wrong"
Ten minutes later Marion Kent was
In the private ward in which young
Stanton had been placed. He had just
received cooling sponge bath, and he
looked at her with eyes that shone with
something beside fever. MY, but that
felt good. and it is awfully jolly. DOM
you know. to see a woman's face
again..
Miss Kent turned up the lamp q
trifie and bent over her new patient
1t seemed to her that she had never
looked into such marvellous brown
eyes-eyes that could twinkle and dance
and hide the deepest and tenderest OF
feeling She glanced from them to the
boyish features. Stanton lifted his
hand weakly and felt of his chin.
Il wanted EN- to give me a shave be
fore they brought me down. l knew
would give you women an awful start
/ look so like tramp"
Here was novelty with a vengeance
a patient who cared how he looked II
the presence of the nurses.
Miss Kent sat down beside him. SHE
felt somehow as If she ought to ad
dress him as a willful boy.
You know this Is sort of a low fevel
You have, and you'll get very tired Of
1t and of us
"Not of you, you bet. Say, did yot
ever sleep on the hard side of straw
tickT
Miss Kent shook her head and con
tinued her little moral lecture. IT JUS
want You to realize that while yor
don't feel very sick you're liable to b,
a good deal worse IL you are not :
good patient"
''Oh. I'll be good. all right. You JUS
watch me-"
And Miss Kent did watch him close
ly more as a psychological study thar
as patient. Without asking questions
bit by bit she pieced together the his
tory of his boyhood. She saw tn,
businesslike. uncompromising attitud,