The Washington times., 1926-01-11
STORY
FULL Of
THRILLS
Continued from First Page.I

4
it's paid sometime. And L." ne
| smiled pleasantly. 1T will not be
preeipitate in the matter of sending
my bill. All we want is assurance
| that the account will be- settled
some time. You own this house, |
! think you said the other day."
| might find difficulty in having
that operation performed. I'll look
out that / keep on owning it."
your wife is in a critical con-
ditioA,' he went on "and she must
be examined by DIR. Bendleson to-
day-some time this afternoon. It
will be better for him to see her
at the hospital. will make all
the arrangements for you'll
phone in an hour or so when the
ambulance will arrive. You'll want
private room for her, of course?''
What will it cost?''
1t was a piker's question, and I
blushed when I realized that I had
asked it. My wife lying at death 8
door, and l haggling about costs!
II may be able to. get you one
for SIS a week, but the chances are
there won't be anything for less
; than twenty. That is paid by the
,
that can be put off. / guess you
can scrape up that much somehow.
And another thing-on account Of
what you've told me about your
finances-Dr. Bendleson will prob
ably can't tell you authoritatively
but just to. put you on your
guard-hen probably require a
nurse to be with the patient night
and day for the first two weeks or
so. That will require two nurses
one for night and the other for
day duty.
Bills Were Piling Up
The hospital will engage them for
you4but-er-they must be paid
weekly. It'll run somewhere around
$40. a week-each. I'm going over
there now. Suppose you come with
me and-er-go through the neces-
sary fDrmalities for securing the
room and nurses. There's one or
two minor fees to take care of. too.
The x-ray man will want $40 or
so, and thereTl be SO to pay the
assistant who administers the an
aesthetics. 1t won't be much. but
you'd better bring your checkbook
along"
A 500 a week, besides DOCTORS
fees and surgeons fees. minor fees.
the baby's doctors fees and the
baby nurse! And $35 or less to my
Bcredit!- 1 did bigger job Of pridey
swallowing than 1 had ever sup.
posed myself capable Of.
Don't they havefree-wards-d doc
ter?" I got the words out in a
hurry. as though they tasted bad.
"Oh, yes-practically so. l can
a
patient-'
"WilI she have just as good
care? Will she stand as much
chance of recovering as she would
| in a private room? Doctor, want
her to have every chance it's pos
sible to give her"
Ward patients. or even charity
patients, receive just as good care
as it is possible to give them. But
II stands to reason that q nurse
who has only one patient to look
after can give better 6erice than
one with twelve or fifteen to watch
The flu is keeping them pretty
busy up there. In your wife's
critical condition a few minutes
delay might make
Nurses Manner FOrebOding
Something in the way Nurse Wade
opened the door of my wife's room
startled me. Generally, she didn't
open doors that way. And she
didn't wait for DR.. Stephens to I'd
dress her. Standing in the door.
way she spoke to him, and all the
time she kept her face toward the
corner of the room where my wife's
bed was.
Doctor, may / ask"
Certainly, nurse. You are quite
right. You had better not come in
Mr.. Jones'" And the door closed.
Three hours later she was taken
from the operating room. a sheet
covered figure on wheel table
Like an overgrown tea-cart," ]
thought. And then / realized ]
needed some attention myself.
l got it in the form of more mis-.
cry. They had chased me out OF
| my wife's room, and / had been
haunting the adjacent corridor like
a stray dog on a back porch.
| was allowed to wait in an ante
| room of the superintendent office,
| but every five minutes ! went into
the corridor to intercept the news II
| 1t should come Unexpectedly.
A door halfway down the corridor
| opened as a man came out, leading
two children, ror years old. I
| caught a glimpse of the 'room--and
a woman lying on the bed, one
| arm hanging limp and wax-likA
|