Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1905-03-03
CHAPTER XVIII

l gently raise him to sitting position,
and support him with my arm.
How do you feel now, sirY l in
quired.
"All right, all right" he replies, yet
his voice is thick and indistinct He
comforts his odd, old face, too, with a
twinge Of pain. This is a bad job, eh ?
l shall be detained here with it. How
long, now, should you suppose it will
take to mend; or rather, how long until
l can travelT"
l hesitate. THAT is difficult to say"
i reply at length. 1T depends much on
the state of your blood and your bodily
constitution. II the wound should in
flame"
1T cannot in1ame! It'won't infame!
Do look like man of gross habits p
He lashes himself up to a state of ex-
citement which is of all things the most
injurious.
mo, no, my dear sir By no means;
calm yourself"
He hurries on as if / had not spoken.
1 am in excellent condition-always
was-always am. Never know what it
is to have a pain in my stomach | am
neither drunkard nor a glutton, sir, and
more than one-half of humanity is car
ried off before their time with one or
other, or both! Their bloated bodies go
To fatten the churchyard, and just what
they deserve. | have one mutton chop
for my dinner every day, sir, no more!
One fresh egg for breakfast-two slices
Of toast per diem. And, sir, unless l get
killed in an accident, | shall live until
i die of old age"
"No doubt" hasten to assent, anx-
ious only to soothe him, adding, with
laugh. "You are a bad customer to the
doctors, sir, fear. II all were like you,
We should fare badly"
He chuckled. Not much they have
ever got out Of me; ha, ha"'
And yet, in spite of his boasting, he
seems to hold but frail tenure Of life.
Like a withered apple his face is wrin.
kled, his frame is shrunken and wizeued.
AT this juncture another twinge of pain
forces a groan from him, and his head
falls to my shoulder. An ashen hue be-
gins to spread over his features again.
II am not used to pain" he murmurs,
anxious to explain the cause Of the faint
ness. Next he turns to the station mas
ter. "The station master, l presume" "
That individual, who apparently under
stood English, bows.
"At your service, SIR"
Would you have the goodness to see
what those fools have done with my ef-
fects, Mr.. Stationmaster? And il they
are not stolen, order them to be taken to
Hotel London"
The station master again inclines his
head.
And send for a four-wheeler," re-
quested.
What Is your name, young man"
asks the Englishman abruptly, scanning
me from head to foot. you are a doc
tor, l presume; but what do they call
your
l pronounce to him my name in full,
take pride in doing 80, but it is lost
Oh him. He gathers his white, bushy
eyebrows into Fuckers.
what? Do you mean to say they
were barbarous enough to christen you
that? Say it again. l didn't catch any
of it."
sounds strange to English ears, yet in
my country it is simple one. l am a
Russian. In England l should be called
only Vladimir Lubanoff. The .middle
title, which means son of Alexander,
would be left out"
"Ah son of Alexander" he repeats.
"Well, now, to my mind the name Alex
ander is the only sensible one of the
three; and if you won't be offended,
will call you DR.. Alexander. or course,
you will see me through this affair"
"Certainly, if you wish it, sir. Only
before allowing you to engage me to do
So | must tell you that, though l have
taken my degree, have not rs yet prac-
ticed. Moreover, there is something else
you ought to know" l hesitate,
and look him straight in the face. 1.-The
fact is, you might object to being attend
ed by a political fugitive; but l have a
friend here, DIR. Carl Rosen-"
I am hurrying Oh, when he bursts in
with, "Fudge! You'll do. A political
fugitive, you say. And you think / may
object? like man who has the pluck
to show fight when he is unfairly
coerced Now, those Nihilst fellows,
don't say they are right, mind you
not in blowing people to pieces, and that
sort of thing-God forbid! But on my
word, though disapprove Of their meth
ods, l cannot help sympathizing with
their cause. am dead against coercive
measures, and so are you. / like your
sort. Alexander. Shake hands"
The station master enters and informs
US that the conveyance is waiting.
"How are you going to get me to it?"
inquiries the Englishman, obviously.
/ reply by carefully gathering him up
IN my arms and carrying him off. He
twists his face the while for all the world
like a crying infant. Having disposed
him on the seat Of the conveyance with
a cushion, lent by the station master, un-
der his injured foot, we start at a slow
pace toward the hotel On the broad
steps the proprietor is waiting to receive
us. He hurries to the street as we halt,
with many solicitations; for, as he in
forms us, "Meester Coughs effects had