Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1920-08-11
DOCTOR OF HEARTS
BY BETTY M'lNTYRE.


&c. 1920. by Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate,
Phyllis was talented, well-educat
ed, handsome but unspoiled child o
wealth. The male portion of Kings
town openly adored her, while thu
contrary sex secretly copied her man
ners, gowns and her style in hair-dress
ing.
She was a born matchmaker anC
quarrei-patcher, and when any Of the
girls Of the town were heartbroker
over some John Henry, she was sought
and although she was only twenty-five
her advice was sage. In this way she
had earned the name that the boys
had given her, doctor of hearts,"
When her friends wrote to her they
always placed D. o. H. after her name,
and with smiling gOod-nature she ac-
copied their fun, and no one ever
guessed that the doctors own heart
needed mending.
Many of her admirers proposed to
her, but she refused them all, for she
did not love them, and she was firm
believer in whole-hearted love or none
at all. She very tactfully found some
charming girl for e1ch of the disap-
pointed SWANS.
One beautiful morning the doctor,
feeling rather lazy, took an interesting
book and some red-cheeked apples that
Wed with her own cheeks for rOsinesS,
and settled herself in the couch ham
mock to wait in comfort for the mail
man. When he arrived she smiled as
she read the D. O. n. placed after her
name on four of her letters. She
smilingly opened one of them and read
a long letter from one Of her pa
tients" who had found happiness. One
letter bore foreign postmark, but the
usual D. O. II. was there, and she was
puzzled for as far as she knew, none
Of her friends were abroad, and the
address being typewriter, gave her
no information. She slit the envelope
and read:
''Dear Phyllis-At last have found
where you live. Until tonight I have
been unable to find you, although L
have searched for the past three years.
After l returned to Camden and found
you gone, I ran down every possible
clew to find you, but all in vain. Last
week I came here from London, for
knew of your fondness for Egypt, but
] could find nothing here until to-
night, when I dropped into the English
club, and here I met chap named
Clark, who knew you. When he told
me that you were not married, made
up my mind to see you at once, and
beg your forgiveness, if / can, for my
foolishness. So am coming to you as
fast as can, with the hope in my
heart that you still love me a little.
'Yours forever,
"TOM BEVERLY"
The rest of the mail was forgotten,
and her dancing heart made her eyes
glow with a wonderfsrlight. Tom was
coming to her after three long years,
and he had searched until he had
found her; the silly thing they had
quarreled over was forgotten. For the
next three days she lived in q fever Of
expectancy, and each day found her
dressed in some wonderful dress, for
she was anxious to look well when he
came. For a week she watched for
him Ct train time, PIT be did not come.
One morning In her plain ginghaff
dress she curled up in the hammock
to rest and sleep and dream of his
coming. She woke to find Tom lean
ing over her, and with glad cry her
arm ehcircled his neck and in the kiss
that followed all the pain Of the years
was forgotten.
Suddenly she became conscious of
her plain dress, and asked him to ex-
cuse her until she changed it..
"Why change 1t, sweetheart? You
are wonderful in that dress, and silk
or satin could not improve you any,"
And then, in the approved fashion, he
told her just how wonderful she was
to him. With happy sigh the little
doctor of hearts dropped her head on
his shoulder. A shrill whistle and the
postman entered the yard with several
letters, all with the D. 0. FL. after her
name. Tom, picking up one from
where she threw them into the ham
mock, kissed the D. O. II. as he said,
with his arm around her, Doctor Of
hearts is a good name for you, my
darling, for you sure can fix sick
hearts, but after the way you have
fixed mine, I'll tell the world that to
me D. 0. II. means delight of heaven"