The patriot. [volume] (Indiana, Pa.) 1914-1955, 1917-05-12
HIS
SWEETHEART
By WARREN MILLER

w ulle Sci llS Will LII AC5ALAC4I cS
surgeon at Manila l received a letter
from my old friend Dick Thurston at
Batavia, Java, asking me If 1t would
be possible for me to come down and
see him. He was i'll, and despite the
fact that he was taking the best of
care Of himself he didn't get any bet
ter. Couldn't / obtain a leave even for
a short time?
1 confess l did not relish the idea
Of making the journey, but Dick and
had long been cronies and l would no
more think of refusing him than my
own brother.
1 succeeded in getting 4 leave, and
found Dick Thurston on a coffee plan
tation, where he had gone some months
before I'm the interest Of an American
grocery concern. He was living with
Javanese family, consisting Of moth
er, a daughter some twenty-five years
old and several children. The young
woman was attending to the patients
wants. Indeed, she had the whole care
Of him.
Dick was suffering from malignant
dysentery. put him under treatment,
but got no response. A couple of days
after / began he was as bad as ever.
What puzzled me was that his trouble
was intermittent At one time he
would appear so well that l couldn't
believe there was anything the matter
with him. Then, when was congratu-
lating myself that he was going to
come out Of 1t, down he would 60
again. AS to the drugs l gave him,
they appeared to have no effect what
ever.
hadn't been attending him long be-
fore l discovered that the Javanese
girl who nursed him was In love with
him. This set me to thinking. l had
seen an extract somewhere think il
was In a newspaper-from an old
Dutch report stating that when Jaw
anese woman takes fancy to a Euro
pean she will either have him or poi.
son him if she gets the chance. Might
not this be case in point? Without
saying anything to Dick resolved to
watch her. She was very regular in
bringing in his meals, and on several
occasions when she did so l concealed
myself in closet, keeping my eye to a
nail hole But if she was poisoning his
food she didn't do it when she gave it
to him.
Dick 1 said to my patient, your
nurse loves you"
81 II
astonished.
Have you been making love to herr"
81 have never thought Of such a
thing"
"Have you any objection to doing so?'
Dick demurred, but as l told him l
had theory connected with his illness
he finally consented. The next time
she was with him he called her to him,
took her hand in his and told her that
her kindness was winning his heart.
She did not object to caress and went
away looking very happy.
The next day Dick was better
/ told him to keep up his lovemak,ng
for a few days, and he did so, with the
result that his improvement was re-
markable. ! didN't care enough fer fur
ther experimenting to ask him to cease
his devotional attitude and grow worse,
so | resolved to eat some of his food
myself. But to get the food that was
sure was poisoned I was obliged to
have him do this very thing. He turn
ed away from her, but did not eat the
next meal she brought him. | SNUG
gled in some food for him, ate a little
of that the girl brought him and made
away with the rest surreptitiously. The
test fulfilled the conditions. The whole
length of my alimentary canal became
irritated This was the same symp.
tom as Thurston's. didn't care to re-
peat the experiment.
There was now nothing to do lat
&C.: the patient from out the clutches
Of this too much loving nurse, but my
curiosity was aroused as to what poi
son she was using. I thought Of
watching her as she prepared the food,
but to do this was impracticable. /
would have tested the food chemically,
but had no materials for the purpose
/ was puzzled.
I had, among other instruments
lad brought with me, a pocket micro
scope. 1t was by no means so power
full as the regular instrument, but ex-
cellent for its grade. For the want of
something better I one day took up
this microscope and brought it to bear
on some Of the food l had eaten. I'm
mediately the cause of the trouble
was revealed to me. The substance
was filed with fine hairs-nOt animal,
but vegetable hollow tubes spiked like
bayOnets.
And these things had been passing
through Dicks digestive organs No
wonder thnt he was i'll. A compara-
lively few of them had made me feel
Rs if had eaten hot lead.
I took some of the food to a Java
nese man from whom Dick had been
buying coffee, showed him the hairs
with the microscope and asked him
what they were.
Those" he said, 'are bamboo poi
son hairs. so called from tha fact that