The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1911-05-18
THE WRONG
BOOK
By ESTHER VANDEVEER
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation. 1911

l
elers westward from the Missouri river
went by wagon train system. | was d
young man then and had some money
which had invested in the stock of
/ mining company on Clear Creek.
about twenty miles west of Denver.
| News came that those operating the
mine had struck a rich vein of ore, and
concluded to go out and look after
my interests
So joined a wagon train at Kansas
City consisting of two wagons The
owner, John Scarsdale. was taking his
| family out to Denver to settle there.
They consisted Of his wife. his son,
Henry. twenty years old. and his
daughter. Amelia. Henry had taken a
course OF medicine at an eastern uni
! Verslty and was going to put out his
! single in Denver.
/ There is nothing like being thrown
with girl constantly and not seeing
other girls to make man fall in love
And l suppose it's the same with a girl
in reference to the man. At any ratio
we had been on the road but a few
days when began to consider Amelia
attractive
DR.. Henry Scarsdale had a whole
library of medical books with him
and studied whenever we were in
camp. He was an enthusiast in his
profession. He became a celebrated
physician afterward, but at that time
he was simply at the beginning of his
career and always yearlling for some
one to fall i'll that he might aDplv his
! knowledge.
Unfortunately I was destined to
need his attention. Ny heart would
get to beating rapidly at the slightest
proVocation. The young doctor on
hearing of my trouble unpacked be-:
OF books that he had intended not TO
open till he reached Denver got out Il
volume on heart disease ran his eve
over the index till he came to .'paIpi-
tatlon" and familariZed himself with
my case. Then he improvised steth-
oscope, placed it against my chest over
my heart. listened and looked serious.
knew by that look that | was
doomed. He told me that must not
consider my case hopeless, which
understood to mean that it was hope
less, especially since he told me that |
might live quite awhile. But the next
morning, feeling more hopeful. told
the doctor that / thought he might
have been mistaken. whereupon he
said very decidedly that would find
out. If | lived to reach Denver it
void be more. than he expected.
Us broke me all UP again. and
confined to decline during the rest of
the Journey. I couldn't make the
s!ich-est motion without my heart
'oHt:ng like trip hamrer LOST
feb and was so nea raa 4 ssgn hat IN
Il +ilne we We're ;DpFaH h.He Ienvel
refining place wos made f8r ne iii
one Of the wagons
I conceived q great resaeef for tees
medical diagnosing power Of the
young doctor. He had tod re that if
reached Denver aliv" would do
well. and the nearer got to fhp
town the more rapid y heart beat
It occurred to me thu IL didn't really
expect me to live evoa so long as that
At any rate I made up my mind
would not
When within ten niles Of Denver in
camp one evening sent for Amelia
oarrd'la and ted h"r t.llt. Being at
the point of death would have no
further use for dly wealth and
handed her my mining shares that
had transferred to her | refrained
from telling her that loved her
thinking that, being doomed. it would
be better for her that | should keep
my secret. Amelia was certainly very
grateful, tried to comfort me and de-
clared that if l lived she would re-
transfer the shares to me To this |
replied that l had given up all hope.
that when her brother told me il was
not likely would live to enter Denver
I had doubted his power of diagnosis.
but ! had been getting worse ever
since. and I knew now that he was
right
While we were talking Dr. Scars
dale came to the wagon and said to
me:
81 fear l have made a mistake in
your case. got hold of book on dis
eases of the heart have. today been
reading one on indigestion. and l
shouldn't be surprised if your heart
trouble is due to that cause
"You say you fear you have made a
mistake" remarked.
"Yes."
"Well. fear you haven't"
"Diet for a few days, and have
some peptonic pills I'll give you"
took the doctors pills. and the fact
that he had got hold of the wrong book
concerning my case convinced me that
he was not infallible. Ny mind drifted
in another channel. my heart stopped
beating SO rapidly. and l was a new
man
Amelia insisted on returning the
mining shares. which made me feel
very cheap. went up in the noun
tains to the mine and returned a few
weeks later very rich man. was
much surprised that Amelia did NOT
look so beautiful among other women
as she had seemed on the alkali plains.
Indeed, | thought her anything but
hQalJtifI1I Che