Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1912-05-30

unless some strange freak in his ma
ture might influence him. Remorse,
mercy, pity. knew did not exist for
| him. But with flash 1t came to my
mind that this was all the better. IL
he must now serve as my surgeon.
/ He looked into my eye. and l re-
turned his gaze. scorning to ask him
not to take advantage Of me. now that
was fallen. His own eye changed.
1t asked of me, as though he spoke:
care you. then. game to the core?
Shall l admire you and give you an
Dther chance. or shall kill you now?''
! say that ! saw. felt. read all this in
his mind. looked up into his face
and said:
You cannot kill me. / am not go
| Ing to die. Go on. Soon, then"
| A sort of sigh broke from hts lips,
as though he felt content. | do not
think it was because he found his foe
a worthy one. l, do not think he con-
sidered me either as his foe or his
friend or his patient. He was simply
test his own nerve, his own resources.
something which. if successful. would
allow him to approve his own belief
in himself. l said to myself that |
would pay him If he brought me
through-pay him in some way.
/ heard them on the sand again, and
I saw him come again and bend over
me. All the instruments they could
find had been a razor and a keen pen
knife; and all they could secure to
stanch the blood was some water,
nearly boiling For forceps Orme had
a pair of bullet molds, and these he
cleansed as best he could by dipping
them into the hot water.
"Cowles," he said, in matter Of fact
voice, "I'm going after it. But now I
tell you one thing frankly, it's life or
death, and if you move your head it
may mean death at once. That irons
| lying against the big carotid artery. IT
it hasn't broken the artery wall there's
ghost of a chance we can get it out
safely, in which case you would prob
ably pull through. I've got to open the
neck and reach in. I'll do it as fast as
can. Now, I'm not going to think of
you, and, gad!-if you can help it
please don't think of me-"
Ellen Meriwether still held my head
in her lap.
"Are you game-can you do this,
Miss Meriwether?" l heard Orme ask.
I felt her hands press, my head more
tightly. l turned my face down and
kissed her hand. Il will not move" I
said
/ saw Orme's slender, naked wrist
pass to my face and gently turn me
into the position desired, with my face
down and a little at one side, resting
in her lap above her knees. Her skirt
was already wet with the blood of the
wound, and where my head lay it was
damp with blood. Belknap took my
hands and pulled them above my head,
squatting beyond me. Unknown to- the
girl, kissed the hem of her garment,
and then said short appeal to the
Mystery.
I felt the entrance of the knife or
razor blade, felt keenly the pain when.
the edge lifted and stretched the skin
tight before the tough hide of my neck
parted smoothly in long line. Then
/ felt something warm settle under my
cheek as lay, and felt low shiver,
whether of my body or that of the girl
who held me | could not tell, but her
l. dc, eSfa al oil M
an infinite kindness and carefulness
and pitying-oh, then I learned that
life, after all, is not wholly war-that
there is such thing as fellow suffer
ing and loving kindness and wish to
aid others to survive in this hard fight
of living. l knew that very well. But
did not gain it from the touch of my
surgeons hands.
The immediate pain of this long cut
ting which laid open my neck for some
inches through the side muscles was
less after the point of the blade went
through and ceased to push forward.
Deeper down / did not feel so much
until finally gentle searching move
ment produced jar strangely large,
something that grated and nearly sent
all the world black again. / knew then
that the knife was on the base of the
arrow head; then / could feel it move
softly and gently along the side of the
arrow head. could almost see it creep
along in this delicate part of the work.
Then all at once I felt one hand re-
moved from my neck. Orme, half ris-
ing from his STOPPING posture, but with
the fingers of his left hand still at the