Norwich bulletin., 1914-03-10

i John Foss entered the consulting | room with the air of man already | condemned to death. A few hours previously he had awakened from a tiring slumber, to find his body | strangely inanimate Thisf to a man l of his experience of good health, seem | ed to argue that it was his turn to be l ill.
 Tt must be the heart,' he muttered | to himself time after time. They say 1 big men are more liable to heart dis | ease than smaller, And yet =" In | this frame of mind he faced Dr. Ev- erett the most noted consultant in
 England and the great physician | looked kindly upon the. as he thought, perfect specimen of manhood before l him. However, he quickly assumed his professional mien and proceeded to
 make a thorough examination. The longer it lasted the greater be- came Foss's anxiety.
 What is it doctor" he ventured to ask.
 "On, nothing nothing" was the an swer, given in a voice that would have sounded matter of-fact to anybody
 else. As it was. F'oss saw in it the most tragic forebodings. What is it; can't you explain" he asked again.
 There's really nothing the matter, but if you're anxious 1 will write you tonight" said Dr. Everett, and. for nv ask for an immediate verdict. F'oss left the house feeling sick, and as he emerged into the sunlit street he staggered, but quickly recovering him self strode out among the crowd By now he was convinced that, had he
 been more explicit Dr.. Everett would have sentenced him to death. All the minor ailments of a physique which appeared so perfect he recalled, those odd twitching pains in the region of f 1,, I-V,oe of ter bursts of exercise and pains in the
 head. He remembered the sudden death of one time friends, men as strong as he, who had been carried off, as It were. in night. Then he pictured the results of his own death. Thank God. he had no ties, he loved no woman, and nobody would be the worse off when his turn came. There were three letters on his plate when ne came down to breakfast next morning. Parker, his servant, busied himself about the room but FoSs dared not open that letter he knew was from Dr. Everett until his man was out of sight. When Parker did go he opened it feverishly.
 Dear Sir Git ran, and he read 1t very slowly)-"You have asked me for
 plain statement, and as 1 agree with you that a man of your position should have time to settle his affairs, l have to inform you with great regret that | the present state of your heart does not warrant me holding out to you a longer lease of life than three months. Pray accept my sincere sympathy. Be- lieve me. this sort of thing is very painful, and I wish l could be spared the responsibility, but 1 suppose it is part of my duty. Again expressing
 my sympathy. believe me, yours very 1 sincerely,
 Wilton Everett" Foss sat very still for two hours Parker came in once and glanced at him, with the intuition of the per feCtly trained servant, saw that he was not wanted and withdrew. Mean while. his master sat on thinking F'oss found strange consolation in the fact that the other world was peopied with so many great men. Mechanically he ran over list of names of the great dead.
 Anyhow, I'll meet them if there is another world" he muttered, rising to his feet. Parker"
 His man attended him unemotion- ally
 'TH catch the boat train for Paris tonight. Pack everything. I must go,'' he added to himself. What does it
 matter if I do knock off a week or a month of a short life-itll make no difference"
 A week later he stood at the base of the most difficult mountain from a climbers point of view, in Switzerland it was brilliant day feS climbing and i in the joy of the glorious weather Foss forgot his anXieties.
 Without a word to the guide he started and for some time the crunch ing of stone under his feet was the
 only sound. They seemed to be climb
 ing to heaven this day, and. certainly
 heaven never looked so inviting as it