Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-03-07
Anorcordls
BY NATHAN BAKER

see Miss Edna Verne. She handed
him a bit OF paper on which was writ
Ten single word. "Amorcordis." and
said: .-..-=.. III
"Dr. Robinson gave me that paper.
He says that II bears the name Of a
disease from which am suffering and
that II has proved fatal In a large
number Of cases He says he is too
busy to give me the attention require.
/ must be under the care Of some
physician who will keep me under
close observation" :@
Miss Verne was an attractive young
lady She was the picture Of health,
and DR.. Philbrick was puzzled both
rs to her not showing any symptoms
Of disease and as to the disease itself
Of which he had never heard. He was
a recent graduate in his profession and
knew that there was a great deal he
had yet to learn. but he did not care
to reveal his ignorance to Miss Verne.
He felt Of her wrist. and current,
electrical or otherwise, entered the tips
OF his fingers and ran UP through his
arm. Miss Verne lowered her eyes,
He asked her IL she had headaches. and
she replied In the negative. He inquir-
ed as to warm fushes-he had noticed
one in her cheeks when he felt her
pulse-and she was not sure but that
she did feel something of the kind &C.
caSionally. He placed his ear against
her heart. listened to its beating and
thought 1t trife faster than normal
The doctor carried bread tablets in
his medicine case and before going
away left few Of them with the pa
tient to be taken three times day at
mealtimes. As soon as he had gone
Miss Verne dumped the tablets into a
wastebasket. then threw herself on a
couch with a novel and-thought Of
DR.. Philbrick.
Now DIR. Philbrick. had he been long
er in the profession, would have taken
some short cut to discover the nature
Of amorcordis. As it was. fearful Of
betraying that he didn't know as much
as physicians Of thirty or forty years
standing. he went through medical
library for the purpose without finding
mention OF such anfailment He tried
hard to screw up his courage to go to
DR.. Robinson. confess his ignorance
and ask him where be could find 4
treatise on 1t. This he shrank from
doing. Had Miss Verne been closely
related to him heImiGhtz have succeed
ed. impeIIed by a1fear that she would
die of the disease while he was trying
to find out whataipSRax but she, being
young lady WHO expected him to
know about all bodily troubles, It
would never do to run any risk Of her
finding out his Ignorance.
So the only chance Miss Verne had
for cure was the doctors bread tab
LET'S. and bis constant visits. He called
regularly. intending with each call to
devote the time spent In her company
to finding out what allied her by what
she would tell him Of her symptoms.
But the young lady was prone to chat
upon other subjects. and when the doc
tor attempted a thorough questioning
upon what he needed to know she in
variably found some method Of evad-
lug him. .<:5. -. ~. -. .-...,. =
Had it not been for that bit Of paper
On (which the great DR.. Robinson.
whose patients lay exclusively among
miIlionaires. he would have been in
clined to suspect that amorcordis was
a sham disease As 1t was, he believed
implicitly that twas genuine, and aft
er number of visits to his patient, re-
iuembering that the doctor had tod
her that 1t was sometimes fatal. he
feared It might be so in this case.
All this so absorbed the doctor that
he failed to pay that attention to
friends and associates required Tor
building up a practice. His mind was
continually upon one patient to the ex.
cIusion Of others and on one disease.
Smallpox. measles. typhoid feyer-in'
decd, all the diseases he had studied
in the medical college-were as nothing
compared to anorcordis. He thought
of it all day and all night and never
thought of 1t without associating with
it Edna Verne.
One day Miss Verne fell really LII.
She sent for the doctor and told him
that while her present trouble was not
her chronic disease it was intimately
connected with that trouble. The doc
tor turned pale. He spoke to her IN a
comforting tone that he did not feel
himself. The thought that she Nght
die suddenly doomed up before him as
a terror. Telling her that he would
himself bring from the druggists the
ron,o61- bo would nrescribe he left her