The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-05-24

tooth and handle the cases that come
ordinarily within the scope of a man
such as myself, but 1 cannot compare
myself with such men as Maupin.
am not equipped to handle such cases
and would absolutely decline to un.
dertake one"
How much money would be re.
quired to procure the services of such
a man as Maupin?"
Such a man would not consider a
fee less than two thousand francs
possibly more" -,
IF We could" began Pere Ribot.
But we cannot" interrupted the
doctor: s'You can dismiss the idea of
getting that much money together.
Why, not centime would be left in
the village, leaving out Merchant
Maupin, Of course"
They parted, but from the express
sion on Pere Ribot's face he had not
dismissed the subject.
In the twilight he walked slowly
in the direction of M. Maupin's house.
He passed for resolute man, but he
was evidently depressed about his
for he walked by the house
twice before he knocked
M. Maupin received him cordially.
He was, he claimed, a good friend of
the Church and frequently made
small donations when besought by lie
Pere, but for Individual charity he
was not famous. Pere Ribot plunged
at once into the matter that had
brought him to the merchants house
IN. Maupin," he said, there is now
in the village a case where charity is
needed and where it would be well
placed. Melanie Dourges is dying of
a tumor which is beyond the skill of
Doctor Lebrun. He is confident, how
ever, that such a man as your brother
could most likely effect a cure. He
is very famous man, but | hope he
is not deaf to the call of the sufferer,
and l hope that you will lay the mat
ter before him in such words as will
influence him to come to the aid of
one who is unable to pay for help yet
richly deserves it."
M. Maupin shook his head. Mon
Perez" he said, you speak as priest,
but you are not speaking as a man of
business. With you, money means a
new soutane once and awhile, repairs
to your church and the balance to
charity The business or professional
man has other worries on his back.
My brother demands and receives
very large fees. He is obliged to live
in a style BETTING his position and
his expenses are very great. To leave
Paris and spend two or three days
here on a charitable call might re-
suit in the loss of ten-thousand-
franc fee, besides gravely disarrang-
ing his relations with his important
clients. l could not ask it of him,
mon Pere." ...a
Not to save lifc?" asked Pere
Ribot. Il i&'H
But his absence from Paris for two
days might cause the death of one of
his clients. You see, while he was
trying to save this girl he might sac
rifice another life ..
'If, NJ Maupin," continued Pere
Ribot, who was a hard man to beat
"such an arrangement is impossible
if l could get together a fairly sub
stantial sum to pay for a surgeon,
would you help us to make up the
deficit?"
mon Pere, you come in bad time
What with hailstorms in South
France and floods in Italy my bust,
ness is in bad state. l ask for pay.
ment and receive petitions for extern
sion. I cannot really afford any un.
usual outlay at this time ... p
Pere Ribot departed, deeply disap-
pointed at the result of his endeayor.
1t began down about the fish mar
ket, did the gossip, and spread over
the village as a ripple spreads over
a puddle. IN. Maupin has been shot. y
'He shot himself" 'He is dying.
HE is dead" "He is only slightly
hurt" Then time waved mighty
fan and swept away the chaff and the
facts remained. -@--...
NJ Maupin had left the village that
morning on a shooting excursion. In
crossing over a dyke his gun was dis
charged and the load went into his
leg. Doctor Lebrun was in attend
ance and had said that, in his opinion,
the wound was not dangerous. :.r
But it was dangerous, and gave no
intimation of healing. In fact, blood
poisoning was SO imminent that Doc
tor Lebrun sent an urgent message
to Professor Maupin, in Paris, to come
at once to his brothers bedside.
The professor was marked con-
trast to his brother the merchant.
The latter was smooth-faced, bald
man, inclined to corpulency, with a
manner which was suavity itself. He
could refuse a request with the ut
most grace-and he refused a great
many. The professor was thin, with
an abundance of grizzly hair and a
stiff grey beard. His manner was for.
bidding and his words curt, and UNI
gracious. His reputation was, how
ever, very widespread, and he was
held to be wealthy, and somewhat
With few words he approved of
all that Doctor Lebrun had done and
acknowledged the necessity of an i'm
mediate operation. This was duly per-
formed and the result was most prom
Using.
That evening Professor Maupin took
a walk in the village. He strobe