The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1938-07-14
0 SERIAL STORY
INFERNO TROUBLE
COPYRIGHT, 1898.
AEA SERVICE, INC.
By Gilmore Cowon Stone

! "You really do smoke too much,
stephen" Miss Armstrong said
as if from force Of habit; but her
mind was obviously not on her
words.
Just what was tell young
Bcnchlev about himself not two
hours ago" he agreed with wry
grin.
Young Benchley.' the white
haired women echoed musingly.
And not so many years ago you
were young Sargent How
old arc you. Stephen? Thrty-slX,
isn't it? Pretty young for a
man to have taken the hurdles
you have"
"Tcll young Benchley that" he
grinned. ale thinks l have one
foot in the grave already. And
do you know. Armstrong. Pm not
so sure he isn't right. Pvc reach
ed the stage where all this FAM
ing youth underfoot around here
gets me down sometimes But
what | came about is one of your
practitioners"
"Ah?" said Miss Armstrong,
and glanced with a sigh at the
pile of reports under her folded
hands.
"By strange coincidence.
Dr.. Sargent went on, staring at
the ceiling. and luXuriouSly
wreathing his head in smoke. its
the one who was up in court
together with young Benchley-,a
month or so so ago-the one with
the eyes like saucers and the
tongue-in-the- cheek look who goes
around deviling everyone with
questions What is it they call
herr"
"At various stages Of her Ca
reer Utility and Agility E.
Lately. | believe. it's been 'the
Elephants Child because, as you
suggest. she goes around asking
questions | suppose she's
been asking you some"
Stephen Sargent chuckled.
Far from it. She takes it on
the lam if she sees me coming a
half mile down the corridor. Some
one has tool her that eat little
girls alive"
$50 you've noticed it," muir
INJURED Miss Armstrong with a
little secret smile. "Well. what is
your complaint"
What would your guess be-"
he countered quizzically.
"Well. the general opinion
among her seniors seems to be
that she is emperamentaHy m-
fitted for nursing"
"More inferno trouble?" he
asked. watching a smoke wreath
curl to the ceiling without meet
ing her eyes.
"There have been rumors." She
eyed him steadily and asked with
resignation, Something new, |
SUPPOSE"
"What else seems to be wrong
with the gal?" DR.. Sargent coun-
tered. 90
IAN overdeveloped sense of hui
NOR, for one thing The ton
gue-in-the-cheek look l think
you called it. Some of her instruc-
tors complain of that. There
seems to be an amazing difference
of opinion. Miss Philbin, who has
her in demonstration. says she
has seldom seen such concentra-
ton and such deft. sure work
manship Miss Miller. under
whose supervision she had some
times worked in the wards con-
firms that. but tells me that she IS
emotionally unstable"
HIM! | doubt if Katherine Mil
Ter would recognize an honest
emotion if she met it naked in
broad daylight" Stephen Sargent
said with a sudden flatness of
tone that made the director of
nursing glance at him sharply.
al shouldn't be so sure Of that, y
she said, a dry smile in her
shrewd dark eyes. Even so, it is
pretty well known that the unem-
otional Miss Miller is your first
choice for the operating room"
Naturally" he agreed. "She
has the quickest eye, the coolest
intelligence. the deftest hands OF
all the nurses | have ever worked
with. She'd have made a damned
good surgeon. if you ask me. But
do YOU know, Armstrong, I've
sometimes wondered, if l were
dow nand out and hurting like
the devil and scared within an
inch of my life-the way we get
they every day-whether a quick
eve, a cool intelligence, and deft
hands would be all I'd need.
Katherine Miller might be perfect
the perfect nurse, | mean, OF
, course-if she'd put one more in
gredient into her work"
He broke off abruptly.
well, Pm still listening" Miss
Armstrong prompted.
Herself" he finished.
She thought, perhaps 5 h c
would if you were the patient,
Stephen. my lad. Aloud, she said,
After all, it was poor little Util.'
ity we were talking about, wasn't
| it? Whose chief fault seems
to be that she puts a devastating
amount of herself into everything
/ she does. Well, | believe you