The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-07-14
CHAPTER VII

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 Tran did not notice that when Or. Benchley was about to inter- eupt with swift question, some ene who stood in the background stopped him with quick, low word.
 She only knew that the eyes of the man on the table clung to hers eor reassurance, and that under her band the quivering in his arm les eened, the tense muscles relaxed. -. And for the first time in her life, Tran felt power.
 It was something entirely apart erom the quickness of mind that made it 50 easy for her to learn from books, or the deftness that made play of manual tasks. It was the sense of power that comes from having strength to lend to another ln need of strength.
 She did not know how long she stood so without looking up-feel- ing quivering muscles relax under her fingers and the calm assurance of her voice-before a whiteclad nurse came with an orderly and wheeled the patient away.
 It was only then that Dr. Bench ley said with the irony of patience too long strained, If it isn't too much to ask, it might be interest ing to get some idea just what that was all about"
 Tran lifted her head and an- swered absently out of the uplift of that newly discovered sense of power, "He thought he was dying I told him 1t was going to be all right"
 "As simple as that, eh?" com- naented Dr. Benchley dryly.
 Tran did not answer. Instead she turned and walked like a wom- an in . trance, straight out of the room-without even seeing that the terrible Dr. Stephen Sargent stood just inside the door, watching her with a thoughtful frown between tho arrogent sweep of his brows.
 Once outside, Tran found that her knees were shaking 50 helpless ly that she had to cling to the wall as she went along the corridor.
 So that was what Miss Philbin meant when she talked about "giv- ing to the patient"
 There was another thing about that evening that Tran never knew.
 Fate that night, Dr. Sargent, coming from the operating room gray with fatigue, halted in the corridor outside Miss Armstrong's ofEace at sight of light framed by the transon, knocked, and went in- Bide.
 Miss Armstrong, her cap slightly hskew, was breeding over sheaf of reports. At this time of year Miss Armstrong often brooded well into the morning over the reports of her students.
 'Hm!" grunted Dr. Sargent. "And 50 on-far into the night, I suppose. And this is the hardboiled lady who sends her girls to bed at 10:30."
 T might say. And this is the fead-surgeon who rides his sub ordinates for turning up red-eyed for want of sleep. and then piles a midnight charity operation on top of full schedule" .. Well, how did it go, Stephen?"
 Miss Armstrong had been super visor of surigcal nursing at Saint Vincent's when Stephen Sargent had been the rawest of young in ternes.
 "Ruptured before could get to it." he said, sliding down in his chair and thrusting his hands into his pockets, his long legs stretched out before him. "The poor devil had . wife and three children, and couldn't make up his mind to take a chance till, this evening, the thing hit him like bomb shell"
 He took a silver case from his pocket, extracted cigaret, and lighted it.
 "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 telling young about himself not two hours ago." he agreed with a wry grin. ,
 ".Young Benchley," the white haired woman echoed musingly. And not 50 many years ago you were young Sargent. How old are you, Stephen? Thirty-six, isn't lt? Pretty young for man to have taken the hurdles you have" "Tell young Benchley that" he trimmed. "He thinks I have one foot |n the grave already. And do you know, Armstrong, I'm not so sure he isn't right. I've reached the stage where all this flaming youth under loot around here gets me down But what l came xbout is one of your probationers"
 "Ah?" said Miss Armstrong, and danced with sigh at the pile of reports under her folded hands.
 ssBy a strange coincidence" Dr. went on, staring at the ceiling, and luxuriously wreathing lis head in smoke, tits the one