The Morris County chronicle., 1909-03-16
A Soldiers Wooinq

~ >SSNS>>S~e
| Copyright 1908. by American Press Asso-
eiation.l
When the Spanish war
was over | found myself at Montauk
Point in the hospital | was pretty
sick, but not sick enough to prevent
my noticing things and there was one
thing noticed mighty quick 1t was
my nurse. She was Il beauty sure
enough, with superb figure and a
graceful carriage. Shel wore immense
coils of chestnut hair piled up on her
head cannon-ball-like and fiared great
lustrous eyes. Fancy fellow who
had been for months in benighred
country. never a woman in sight, sud
denly cared for by such creature
When | saw her coming toward my
cot She seemed like Venus rising from
the sea with all her clothes on and not
limp ruffle in her cap or apron She
came straight up to me. looked down
on me with her fawn orbs and took
hold of my wrist The first contact of
her soft fingers sent my pulse up to
40. She seemed disturbed at that and
turning away. looked about as though
for assistance. | didn't propose to
have her call any one. so | said:
Don't worry about my pulse. It's
normal that is. it frequently sky
rockets about this time of day. and
when lovely creature takes my wrist
between her seraphic''-
But before | could get any further
she rammed thermometer into my
! mouth and had TO lie quiet. though
/ never once took my eyes oft her,
/ and if that thermometer had registered
my admiration it would have stood at
1000 degrees. I'd been sick before
aud knew that a few minutes was
quite sufficient for the test. but she
cpt the thing there a quarter of an
honr. Then she took it out, swung her
, long lashes down toward it and was
making the record when opened fire
again
you're the first woman I've seen
since ] got on that internal troop ship
to go to Cuba, and more heavenly
sight
What did she do but jam the ther-
mometer into my mouth again, turn
her pencil upside down and rub out
the record she had made. This time
she left me with the little glass tube
sticking out of my mouth like a pipe
stem and went away. She didn't come
! back for nearly half an hour, and
when she examined the thing again |
saw by her looks that she was up to
something.
'It's only a sight of so much beauty"
started in, but she paid no attention
to me, and saw her write down 9Sh
degrees. She went away again and
came back with a lump of ice. which
she elapped on the top of my head
She knew as we'll as did hadn't any
fever and didn't need any ice. If 1
had she would have simply reported
my case to surgeon. She did it to
cool my admiration. But 1t would
have taken frozen quicksilver to do
that, and as she walked coolly away
I followed her with longing eyes.
AS soon as she was gone | removed
the ice, chucked it under the cot and
lay thinking that wasn't in it for
impressing her and I'd better keep
quiet. When she appeared again / CON
tented myself for awhile looking my
admiration, but she had to so and take
hold of my wrist, and that threw me
into another fever, with consequent
delirium, which burst out into speech.
ttTm worse this morning" i broke
out. "and the reason Pm worse is be-
cause you've been away so long. If
you think can stand 1t to-
"Put out your tonguev she cried
/ put it out just far enough so