Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1922-10-04
The
$4,000 Operation
BY HUBERT RAY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


Copyright. 1922. Western Newspaper Union.
"Breathe awayl Breathe away. Mr..
! Fothefingay."
'> There was difference even in the
7 voice Of the anesthetist, and In the
way he deferentially placed the ether
cone over Mr.. Fotheringay's nose, for
1t was a $4,000 operation, and Mr..
Fotheringay wQs many times mill.
lonaire.
Yes. that was Mr.. Fotheringay, that
hulk lyinN unconscious upon the glass-
topped table; that bloated bulk Of
man, to operate upon whom Professor
Openhim had been summoned by spe-
cial train from Chicago.
The table containing the inanimate
form Of Professor Openhim's patient
was wheeled Into tho operating thea.
ter adjoining. The benches were
packed with serious-faced students
and many medical men Of the city,
who had assembled to see something
removed from the stomach Of Mr.
Fotherlngay.
Mr.. Fotheringay had swallowed a
small, hard, round metallic object. SO
much the X-ray had revealed There
1t lay, In Mr.. Fotherlngay's stomach In
terfering with the processes of di.
.gesting lobster la Newburg and
: other viands such as are prepared for
men Of Mr.. Fotheringay's social posi-.
tion.
thnt?" the surgeon had asked Mr..
FOtheringay.
"N1ust have been biting It," Mr..
Fotherlngay responded
The white-robed nurses were grouped
in solid phnlnnX about the operating
table. At leust half dozen of Pro.
fessor Opcnhim's assistants were
present to assist. One had to hold
the forceps, another inserted sponges
in the wound that was to be inflicted
upon Mr.. Fotherlngay. Others were
simply there to lend prestige to Pro
fcssor Openhim and to dignity the day
for 1t was a $4,000 operation.
Mr.. Fotherlngay was we'll known In
the city, not only as the richest man,
but as the biggest skintlint imagln.
able. He was the sort of man who
would foreclose on widows mort.
gnge and turn starving child from
his door. Nevertheless, such was the
prestige OK Mr.. Fotheringay that even
his Incredible mcannesses vanished into
n0thingness before the stupend0us fact
OF his wealth.
The surgeon took his scnlpel In his
hand, and n low sigh Of distress went
up MS he made IN incison in the. body
OF MrsFothcringay.
1t seemed sncrilcge. Only man
with nerves so well attuncd as Pro.
fessor Opcnhim's could have ventured
upon the act. Nevertheless, once he
had begun he continued just as If Mr..
FOtheringay had been an ordinary pa.
tient.
Professor Opcnhim's hand did not
tremble In the leust. Nor did the an.
esthetist's fingers shake qs he slowly
and methodicnlly let the ether drip
upon the cone over Mr.. Fotherlngays
nose.
The operation was drawing to an
end. Mr.. Fotheringay had borne the
shock WELL He was still unconscious,
and he had not stirred from first to
last. Only the stertorous breathing
had indicated that Mr.. Fotherlngay's
soul still inhabited It's earthly tab
ernacle.
One might have wondered what II
was doing while Mr.. Fotheringay, look.
ing like distressingly fat turkey, was
being carved. But such speculationa
are sternly discouraged among physl.
clans and surgeons. especially Of Pro-
fessor Openhlms emlnence. The last
stitches were drawn and the suturtng
completed. A horrid thought struck
all those about the table simultane.
ously.
Suppose a sponge or n pair Of for.
ceps had been left in Mr. Fotherln.
gays wound.
They counted the sponges and tho
fcrceps eagerly. Nothing had been
left behind. And In his hand the op.
Grating surgeon held the metal disk
that had been taken out Of Mr.. Fotll.
ingny's body.
Mr.. Fothcringay was wheeled out Of
the operating room, through the ancs.
thetic room into the private room that
had been allotted to him. It was the
most magnificent private room In tho
hospital. There lay Mr. Fothcrjngay
In bed, looking little less fat and
turkcy-lilsc. and by his bedside sat a
nurse, waiting for the moment when
Mr.. Fotheringny might decide to open
his eyes.
Mr. Fothcrlngay had not opened his
eyes, !ut he was speaking. odd they
find 1t? Did they find it7" he asked