Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-08-17
WAS NO EXCEPTION
BY c. 3. LEWIS.

H$SSSSSSS<ScSSsSsSSSSSSSS
When a medical student has received
his diploma, and has been pronounced
fit to go out into the world and doctor
ailing humanity. or take off leg or
an arm. his struggles have just COM
menced. He has little or no money.
He must have I'm Office, and he must
have patients.
Godfrey Randolf had his diploma
and had his Office. but he lacked the
patients. His Office was the front
room of the boarding house. 1t didn't
have any oriental rugs, nor marble
fireplaces. but it had to do. The main
thing was the sign beside the front
door. 1t announced that Godfrey Ran
dolf was physician and surgeon. and
that his Office hours were so and so.
When that sign was In place the grad
unte had done all he could do.
sudden wave of health seemed to
spread over the city. and day after
day, and week after week. Doctor Ran b.
dolf sat In his Office biting his finger
nails. or walked the streets. He was
out walking one day almost in hopes
that a street car might run over some
body and give him Job at surgical
work, when an auto drove up to the
curbstone, near which 1t had halted
for moment A handsome young
lady began rather hurriedly to de-
scend. Her skirts seemed to catch in
ha in, a hot 81 0 UntIld
have fallen face downward on the
sidewalk but for the doctor. II he
had let her fall there would have been
a patient for him, but he didn't let
that thought hold him back. He
sprang forward and caught her In his
arms. saved her from bad fall. and
received the incest kind of smile and
few grateful words as his reward. OF
course. these wouldn't pay his board
bill and his office rent, but still he felt
a warm glow in his heart as he moved
on.
Such incidents happen every day in
the city, and Doctor Randolf soon al
most forgot it. Perhaps II was so with
May Rogers, the young lady In ques-
ton. but II cannot be vOuched for.
During the next two weeks the doctor
had one patient. She was an old wom-
an who was deaf In one ear. She had
been so for twenty-seven years, but. as
a new doctor had come into the neigh
borhood. she thought he might effect
cure. The ear was examined and no
help could be extended, and there was
no money to pay. After the patient
had gone the doctor went out for one
of his usual walks. His feet carried
him into the park. and he hadn't gone
far before he remarked two particu-
lar things. There was a nice young
lady seated on n bench feeding the :
squirrels, and there was a pair OF
runaway horses coming along the
drive at furious pace. There was.
a chance and pretty even one that
they would cross from the drive to
the path. and that the young lady
would be in danger. The doctor for
got the old woman with the deaf ear.
ran forward. and seized the young
lady by the arm and dragged her thir
ty feet away. She cried out in alarm.
but he did not heed her. The rum
away horses left the drive. and cut
across the green. and the way they
made spllnters Of the bench and ran
the squirrels up the trees was sight
to see.
May Rogers saw it-for 1t was May
and realized the danger she had SO
closely escaped. With her breath COM
ing in gasps, she murmured her
thanks. and. when she had more fully
recovered herself, the doctor had dis
appeared. g.
Doctor RandOlf passed another de-
spairing two or three weeks. There
was but one ray of sunshine for him In
that time. A child attempted to swal-
low a spool Of thread, and he was
called to extract the spool as 1t stuck
in the throat. He got 1t out, all right.
and the grateful mother handed over
the two dollars with a hope that he
might have forty cases before week
had passed. 1t was the next day. AZ
he wandered around to make believe
he was visiting patients, that an auto
mobile collided with a brick wagon
Just across the street from him. The
doctor was over beside the vehicles In
a few seconds. and he helped a halls
fainting girl to place of safety on the
sidewalk. 1t was the same May Rog,
ers. She was in a bad nervous state.
and he escorted her to a nearby drug
store. and gave her something to
steady her nerves. 1t might have
seemed like taking an undue advan-
tage to offer his card. or ask her name.
and the doctor fOrbore. She had
scarcely swallowed the powder the
druggist gave her when Doctor Ran
dOlf walked out. Then came a dreary
day. The doctor had sat In his ONCE
from eight O'Clock In the morning until
four in the afternoon. Nobody wanted
anything. Then. all of a sudden,
there arose a cOmmOtiOn In the hall.
and the doctor opened his door to look
out. There was May Rogers again.
She had fallen and broken her arm.
She said:
why, it's you, Is 1t? You never
told me that you were a doctor. AS
I have come to your Office. you cannot
run away from me this time"
You can guess the rest. 1t Is always
S,rcb rr;o Uoc fbtS that <,.-- -