The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-10-29
EVENING STORY
Prescribing for Paul.
BY JANE OSBORN.

lamented the youthful bookishness
that made him too astigmatic as to
eyesight to be of military use to his
country. This ! secondary feeling of
discomfort in multi was frankly Que to
the fact that he left completely
snubbed-snubbed in the once doting
circle of his own family, snubbed by
the young women of the community
by whom his mother had once assured
him he was regarded as quite a catch.
For the little community OF Marden
was within short range of an encamp-
ment and Marden was doing its best to
create q desirable home atmosphere"
for the boys in khaki. Meantime men
who still wore gray cheviot. or blue
serge. or pepper-and-salt business
suits. were negligible.
You don't mind not having any SUI
gar on your baked apple" Paul was
assured sweetly by his mother at
breakfast. I'VE are making apple
pies for the canteen this morning and
those apples were SO tart that we had
to use all the sugar we had on hand"
And when Paul, his mouth in a puck
err, put his hand out for the sugar
bowl for his coffee, his mother passed
him nice little jug of corn syrup.
assuring him that he was going to en-
joy using that in place of sugar be-
cause they had used practically their
entire quota of cut sugar and they
would henceforth have it only when
they had soldier boys for dinner.
THE boys just love cake" his sister
assured him. land it does seem a pity
to use any substitute in it, Then
with moisture in her eyes-"They' be
in France SO soon, the least we can do
Is to let them have our wheat" and
Paul gulped down soggy bullet OF a
corn muffin and slipped cautiously the
insipid mixture of his coffee.
Occasionally. however, Paul was
a 'nprfpct
That was after he had signed a check
for his mother for the Red Cross, or
when he had paid the bill for hun
dred pounds of candy for a soldier
mice boy" too, sometimes. and was
assured that he was one by some of
the girls who had once rather We'd
with each other to meet him on the
tennis court or golf links. But to earn
that title he had to sit for an hour or
ing hanks of yarn or winding them
from the backs of chairs. while he was
actually deserted for a man in khaki.
'If you should happen to get any
thing the matter with you" his sister
told him one morning when he was
feeling especially detected over the
cooks most recent attempt at war
mullins. "I do wish you'd let Doctor
Pratt have try at you-not. of
course, that I want you to have any
thing-but if you should"
And on inquiry as to who Doctor
Pratt was, he was informed that Doc
tor Pratt was Kate Pratt-that Doc
tor Peters, being a skilled surgeon,
had volunteered for the war and that
Kate Pratt, his niece. just from medi
cal college. was going to handle his
practice.
land she has quite a lot of money.
so she is going to give all her fees to
ar n
something. That is confidential. of
course. but I have it on good author
ity. SO it would be awfu1ly nice if
you did get something the matter
with you to go to her. Shes been
quite successful. She set Priscilla's
chows leg the other day and the
blessed dog didn't even whimper. and
she fixed one of the soldiers ankles
at the service club dance. He was
dancing with that fat Baldwin girl
and she tripped him and he strained
his ankle, and Doctor Pratt fixed him
but, OF course, she didn't charge for
that"
To Paul there was something odious
in the idea of letting woman doctor
prescribe for him. but he kept his
opinion to himself and merely made
some comment on PrisciIia's chow,
Meantime he had a new worry. He
was wondering how he could get his
socks darned. For months he had
been neglected. for his mother and
sister knit soldier socks now to the
disregard of the darning bag. AT first
he had bought new socks as he need
ed them, but he had now accumu-
lated three or four dozen pairs and it
didn't seem the best solution. He was
wondering whether he could arrange
with some seamstress to mend them
without letting his mother know-he
e. - IF
course.
So Paurs spirits sank and his ap-
petite waned and before long his
mother and sister noticed Tagging
note in his step and stoop to ms
shoulders that had no. been there be-
fore. He neglected the unsweetened
apples and the coffee with corn syrup
and they decided he had no appetite
well. anyway. it will be a case for
Doctor Kate" his sister told him. and
because Paul was actually becoming
alarmed over his own detected co1di-
ton and because there was no other
doctor in the place. Paul made spe-
cial appointment for consultation ana
went to see her in old Doctor Peterss
Office.
Paul had realized before that there
would ,e difficulties in consulting
woman physician. but the difficulties
were different from those he had ex-
pected. For Doctor Kate proved to
be a most radiant and bewitching
young woman, who somehow sent
strange thrills cour5ing thru ones
veins when she felt ones pulse, and
for lack of a stethoscope she had to
lay her golden-crowned little head
against his heart for full three min
utes at a time to find out the state
of that organ. But. anyway, there
were advantages in this new embar-
rassm ent. At least she was taking him
though she received
a fee for doing SO and that was more
than any woman had done since the
encampment was established near
Marden she told him that he surely
did need treatment, but that she
would have to think the matter over
before she could prescribe.
Meantime Paul went home encour
aged and Doctor Kate cultivated the