The Washington herald., 1911-08-22
THE PURCHASE PRICE
By EMERSON HOUGH.
Autho The Mississippi Bubble" &c
copynsh. pr. The Bob sMerllcO
By EMERSON HOUGH.

There wasn't anything he wouldn't
run, from deer to catamount; and, one
day, when We We're out back here in the
hills-I don't know but Eleazar here
might remember something about that
himself. Hold on, now, old man."
The old doctors forehead for the first
| time was beaded. He wanted silver wire.
He would have accepted catgut. He had
neither. For one moment, in agony him
self he looked about; then a look of
| Joy came to his face. An old fiddle was
lying in the window. A moment, and
he had ripped OF a string. In two strides
he was back at the dripping table. where
lay one marble figure, stood second
figure also Of marble
I'VE were just trailing along, not pay
ing much attention to anything, when
all at once that dog
Doctor Jamieson's story of his famous
coon dog was never entirely completed.
His voice droned away and ceased now,
as he bent once more over his work.
What he did, so far as he in his taci-
, turn way ever would admit, was in some
way to poke the catgut violin string un-
der the bone, with tie end OF the probe,
and so to pass a ligature around the
broken bone itself. After that, IL was
easier to fasten the splinter back in
place where 1t belonged.
Doctor Jameson used all his violin
oughly, and with a frank brutality
drenched 1t with turpentine. as he would
have done with a. horse or a dog; for
this burning liquid was the only thing
at hand to aid him. His own eyes grew
moist as he saw the twitching of the
burned tissues under this infiction, but
his hand was none the less steady. The
edge OF the great table was splintered
where Dunwody's hands had grasped it.
The flesh on the inside Of his fingers
was broken loose under his grip. Blood
dripped also from his hands.
I'm only a backwoods doctor, Dun
wody," said Jameson at length, as he
began bandaging the limb. Il reckon
there's a heap of good surgeons up North
that could make a finer job of this. God
knows, wish they'd had It, and not me.
But with what's at hand, I've done the
best I could. My experience is, It's
pretty hard to kill a man.
wait now until I get some spiints-
hold still, can't you! II We have to cut
your leg off after a while, I can DO a
better job than this, maybe. But now
We have all done the best we could
Young lady, your arm again, II you
please. God bless you!"
The face OF Josephine st. Auban was
wholly colorless as once more she as
sisted the doctor with his patient. They
got him upon his own bed at last. To
Dunwody's imagination, although he
could never settle il clearly in his mind'
II seemed that a hand had pushed the
hair back from his brow: that some one
perhaps had arranged a pillow for him.
Jameson left the room and dropped
into chair in the hail, his face between
his hands Sally" he whispered after
a time, '-whisky-qufck!' And when she
got the decanter he drank half tumoler-
ful without gasp.
Fiddle string In his legT he grinned
to himself at last. Maybe It won't
make him dance. but I'll bet thousand
dollars he'd never have danced again
without itr'
When at last Josephine found her own
room she discovered her maid Jeanne.
waiting for her. fright still In her face.
Madame exclaimed Jeanne, 1T Is
terrible! What horrors there are In this
place What has been done-is II true
that monsieur has lost both his legs. But
one, perhaps? For the man with ono
leg. IL is to be said that he Is more docile.
1T is not true. Jeanne. There has
been surgery, but perhaps Mr.. Dunwody
will not even be cripple. He may get
well-it Is still doubtful"
How then was II possible. madame.
for you to endure such sights? But n Il
not true. how the Bon Dieu Furnishes the
wicked? For myself. I was In terror
even though I was some distance away;
and although that young gentleman.
Monsieur Hector. was 20 good ~ 70 hold
= To IN ooxrlx0rp soxossous