Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1942-05-01
CHAPTER s

dog"
"Why silly? He likes me"
Us that the answer"
He had not the faintest idea what
she was talking about.
Then one day he came face to face
with Beverly Lewis in the street and
felt a leap in his chest which most
people would have considered was his
heart; but which, had he been capable
of thinking at all, he would doubtless
have laid to the sympathetic nervous
system or something similar. He was
however, not capable of thinking at
all. He simply took off his hat and
stood there gazing at her, while she
gazed up rather shyly at his tired
and haggard face.
We've just got back" she said
rather breathlessly. "You-you have
not been sick, have you?"
That brought him back to himself.
Lovely as she was, young and APP
pealing, twisting his very heartstrings
or the sympathetic nerves or what
e-you-she was Staunton Lewis's
daughter, and his face set.
mo. But good many other peo-
pie have"
THAT ought to mean that the prac-
tice is growing" she said.
But he did not smile. ''If you can
call it that. We've had typhoid cpl
demic here Perhaps you haven't
heard about it."
81 heard something" she said UNI
certainly. 81 don't think under
stand"
mo, you wouldn't. Your father
might"
She was gazing at him incredulous-
ly. She knew nothing of what he had
been through. All she saw was tall
young man in faded shirt, who was
staring down at her as though she
had been guilty of something.
Her chin went up. what about my
father?"
"You might ask him. said Chris.
ASK him about the water supply in
the mill districts for one thing. And
about proper filtration plant for the
city. There are few other things,
of course, If you like, I'll write them
down."
"You needn't bother" she said cold
ly, and turning on her heel, left him
abruptly,
He stood looking after her for
moment, his own head high. Then his
anger died. He had been a fool. Curse
and damn that temper of his. What
did she know about the summer or
the epidemic, or what had caused it?
All those hot nights he had been wait
ing for just this hour, this meeting.
Now he had ruined it. She hated
him, and he deserved it.
Thoroughly miserable and alarmed,
he turned toward home, or what for
lack of something better he now call
ed home The trees in the park had
lost most of their leaves, and he sur
veyed them moOdily. Nature went a.
bout her business more methodically
than mankind. There was no non
sense about romantic love, no upsurge
of passion, no battle to fight. Quietly
and Systematically it reproduced its
kind Probably the very leaves under
his feet carried seed pods. They would
find anchorage somewhere, he sup
posed, and in due time there would
be other trees. But men, men and
women, too.
He remembered the women he had
known; girl he had loved long ago,
the casual contacts of his medical
school days, the women who were
brought into the hospital from the
near-by-red-light district. Only one
of them had ever interested him, a
big woman who had house block
or two away, and he had sewed her up
after hysterical girl had cut her
badly with knife.
"Any time you're in trouble, Doc
tor" she had said, "just call on me. !
1 know everybody, and everybody
knows me-"
Her name was Bessie Smith, and
before she left she had given him a
pair of cuff links.
''Just send me ne of them if ever
you need me-" she told him." and
you'll find I'm not bluffing."
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