Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1917-01-03

power for him. am paid for that;
1t is my duty; but it is not your duty
to sacrifice your own life In a vain
effort to save another"
doctor Kelly, he shall not die: l
will not let him. know nothing
about your books and bones; but he
can live with one bone wanting, and
tell you he shall not die, and will
not die either"
It was a week or more after this
conversation l found my patient, one
morning, with blue lips and p1nched
nose, and said to him:
what is this?"
"Well, had a chill last night"
"A chill and did not send for me?"
's.You were here until after mid
night, and must have some rest"
Corporal Kendall, how dare you
talk to me in that manner? You
promised to send for me if there were
any change for the worse; and after
this l cannot trust you. Now I must
stay here. Do you think l am going,
to lose my investment in you? Do
you suppose I would work over you az
I have been doing, and then drop you
for fear of little more work."
AS I passed to the kitchen I found
that blue lips and pinched noses had
suddenly come into fashion; that
there were more of them. than I had
time to count; but did not, for a mo.
ment, dream of letting man get into
the graveyard by that gate.
The merry, young Irishman who had
volunteered as my orderly, had a per-
iod of active service; and no more
willing pair of hands and feet ever
were interposed between men and
death. Hot bricks, hot blankets, bot
ties of hot water, hot whisky punch
and green tea were the order of the
forenoon, and Of good many hours
of night and day after it; for that vic
tory was won by long struggle. For
ten nights I never lay down in my
room; but slept, all did sleep, lying
on a cot about the center of Ward
Four, and two cots from the man min
us bone. I could drop asleep in an
instant, and sleep during ordinary
movements; but a change in a voice
brought me to my post in moment.
I could command anything in the dis
pensary or store-rooms at any hour Of
the day or night, and carried many a
man through the crisis of night at
tack, when if he had been left until
discovered in the morning, there
would have been little hope for him;
and when a surgeon could have done
nothing without key to the kitchen
which none of them had.
kept no secrets from any of them;
told each one just what had done in
his ward; thankfully received his ap-
prevail and directions, asked about
things did not understand, and was
careful that my nursing was In har-
mony with his surgery.
During that trial-time there was
one night that death seemed to be
gaining the victory in Corporal Ken
dalls case. Pain defied my utmost ef-
forts and held the citadel. Sleep fed;
the circulation grew sluggish, and
both he and l knew that the result
hung on the hour. It was two o.
clock a. M, and from midnight had
been trying to bring rest. The injur-
ed limb was suspended in a zinc
trough. l had raised, lowered it by
imperceptible motions; cut bandage
where it seemed to bind, tucked in
bits of cotton or oakum, kept the toes
in motion, irritated the surface wher-
ever l could get the point, of a finger
in through the bandages; kept up the
heat Of the body, and the hope of the
soul; and sat down to hold his hands
and try mesmeric passes and sounds,
when he turned his head on the pill
low, and said:
"Even If should get we'll, I'll never
be fit for infantry service again."
mo, you never WILL
Il might walk with that machine
you talk of: but never could march
and carry knap-sack! But l have
been thinking. am a pretty good en-
gineer. You know Secretary STAN
ton? You might get me transferred
to the Navy, andsI could run an engine
on a gunboat."
"That is it, exactly! You will get
over this! will have you transfer
red to a gunboat, and next time you
will 60 into the Rebellion PROV fore
most. You ought to be at work, in
time to help take Charleston"
II continued to talk, in a sing-song
croone, to stroke his head, and hold
his hand, until he slept, which was
but few moments after settling that
transfer, and the last time saw him,
which was in '79, he got over the
ground and up and down stairs, as
fast as most people, his new bone be-
ing quite as good as any of the old
ones, except being little short and
decidedly crooked, although the crook
did not effect it's usefulness or gener-
al appearance.
Ito be continued.)