Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-05-18
The Argus Daily Short Story
Surgeons Story.-By Beverly Worthington.
Copyrighted. Associated PresA


"Senore Dottori." he said with fee
bic voice. Il have been stabbed on the
left side-here." uncovering. at IS near
the heart
1t was near the heart. but had for
tunately just escaped that organ. After
an examination ] assured the patient
that if he kept perfectly quiet till the
wound should heal he would recover.
But I thought that. considering its
close proximity to vital organ. a sur
geon should remain With him until a
healing should be established.
Then" said one of the men who had
brought me. you must remain. We
do not care that two surgeons should
be introduced here just now
"But my practice-my patients?
--"All damages to your practice shall
be literally paid for"
1 made a virtue of necessity and as
scented.
Meanwhile l had bandaged the cut
and when ! had finished turned and
looked about me. l was in one of
those old palaces, as they are called
in Florence. belonging to some infu-
entail family. The furniture, at least
some of It. must have been several
hundred years old. The bed on which
the wounded man lay was canopied.
On the walls were paintings, some of
which / recognized as masterpieces of
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
There was no one IN the room except
she two men who brought me and the
patient. / directed that large lounge
of antique pattern should be made
comfortable for me to sleep ON. as it
would be best for me to be very near
the patient Then the men who had
brought me left. one of them first say
ing to me:
"Senore Dottori. we are very glad to
hear you say that the patient has so
good a chance for his life. When you
leave here be discreet and all will be
well with you. but If you talk-well.
all have to say is you viii not talk
very long"
1 remained a week at the palace, the
name OF which I did not know. In
deed. | was not permitted to leave the
room of the patient, my meals all be-
ing served there. My mail was
brought me. and it was amusing for
the first day or two to read the mes
sages of my patients with reference to
my sudden disappearance. Then l ask
ed those who had kidnapped me to
leave word at my apartments that
had been called to Sienna on very
important case. This had the effect to
quiet those who sought me.
My patient turned out to be as en-
gaging a man as had deemed him to
be when he passed me in the Pitt
palace
s'Your effort" ! said to him one day.
ito keep your drama-it came very
near being a tragedy-from me would
possibly have been successful had it
not been that l was at the ball at the
Petit palace the night you were stab
bed. l saw you pass me with the man
who stabbed you and the lady for
whom you. were stabbed. So you see
it would be safer for you to tell me
the whole story. since l have a part
of it. l pledging myself to secrecy.
rather than to permit me to so away
with what / already have unpledged."
He was not only very much aston
ished. but saw the reasonableness of
what / said.
Il did not notice you he replied,
"at the. ball and supposed that you had
no position in court society. An Ital-
ian surgeon would have been unavail-
able for us. We are all SO interlaced
socially. those below constantly watch
ing those above and all watching ono
another. That we dare not trust any
one of our own number. You. as an
American. are nor mixed in our jeal-
ousies. our disputes. our
demonstrations.