Geoffrey's Victory by Mrs Georgie Sheldon — page 10: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

6 A STRANGE ADVENTURE. the slippery sidewalks on their round of duty, would now and then slink into sheltered nooks and door-ways for a brief respite trom the stinging, frosty air, where they would vainly strive to excite a better circulation by the active swinging of arms and the vigorous stamping of feet. Even the horse-cars and omnibuses were scantily pa- tronized, while the poor drivers, mutiled to their eye- brows in fur coats and cemforters, seemed like dark, grim specters, devoid of life and motion, save for the breath that issued from their mouths and nostrils, and, congealing, formed iv frozen globules among their beards. At ten o’clock on this bitter night, Thomas Turner, M. D., waa arranging his office preparatory to retiring, and feeling profoundly thankful that he had no patients who demanded his attention, and believing, too, that no one would venture forth to call him, when, to his annoyance and dismay, his bell suddenly rang aclanging and im- perative peal. With a shiver of dread at the thought of having to leave the warmth and comfort of his home, to face the fearful cold, yet with a premonition that the summons would result in something out of the ordinary course of events, he laid down the case of instruments that he had been carefully arranging, and went to answer the call. He found a lad of perhaps fifteen years standing outside the door. % Without a word he thrust a card into the physician’s and, ‘‘Come in, boy! come in,” said the doctor, pitying the poor fellow, whose teeth were chattering at such a rate it was doubtful whether he could have spoken if he wished. He obeyed the invitation with alacritv, however, and made directly for the radiator, toward which Dr. Turner pointed, telling him to “‘go and warm himself.” The phvsician then stepped beneath the hall light to examine the card he had received. _ It proved to be the business card of a first-class, though small, hotel in the city, and on the blank side of it there had been hastily written these words: “Come at once to the -—- House. An urgent case demands your immediate attention. — A. Payson, Clerk.” Dr. Turner frowned, and hung his head in thought for & moment. | comiclooolkks.€