Beadle's Dime Library No. 230 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

ie 18 “I like you, doctor, You talk sense. Follow I knew I had him then, and I said no more, for the greatest mistake a doctor can make is to talk too much. Jt may do with one class of patients, but the hard-headed ones are apt to think you a fraud if you let them see how much ping there is in the science of medicine, I followed Mr. Vanderdecken, who led me to a large airy room at the top of the house, which commanded a view of sea and land and hada wary breeze blowing throught it. **Good!” I whispered. ‘Good place for a sick-room. Who put her here?” ‘* 1 did,” said he, in the same tone. ‘' Doctor Van Viiet said she ought to be kept in the dark and bied, but she only seemed to get worse. That is her grandfather sitting by the bed.” The bed was a buge four-poster, ok. Dutch style, with curtains of mosquito nets; and I saw the figure of an old man with bowed head through the vail. He was sitting dejectedly there, bis chin on his hands which rested on a crutch stick. Inside the bed I saw the figure of a female very small in size more like a child than a wo- man. A black-haired Malay girl was kneeling by the wed as if in great grief. Of course my first business was to examine my patient and I found, as soon as I touched her pulse, that she was pretty near gone, witha thready, intermittent, irregular beat, as if she hadn’t enough blood to get up a decent fever. Yet I saw she had been recently b!ed, for her arm was bound up where they’d lanced her. “The Dutch butchers!” I muttered, “No wonder he said tho case was desperate, The man uses his eyes.” And then for the first time I looked at the girl’s face and saw that Mamie Bruce lay there. Hr skin was like marble: they bad cut off ber bright golden bair; her cheeks were fallen from the round plumpness I remc:abered so well; her little mouth was half open, with lips of a dull gray instead of = and her glorious eyes were set and glazed; but 1 knew ber in a mo- ment. In that moment my whole past seemed to rush over me like a wave, and I almost burst into a of pain, for I felt as if 1 were losing ~," own life in the woman I loved. be next my physician’s instinct rose up in me and I ground my teeth as I muttered: ‘By heavens, she shall not die!” | Then I turned on Vanderdecken as if he had been a slave and I his master. | felt in every fiber of my being the old adage that ‘‘ The ny ne of thesick is a realm and the physician “ Answer my questions quick, and as short as you ean,” said sharply. ‘‘If you don’t know, say so. Yesand no when youcan, There’s no . Will you do this?” “Yes,” said Mr. Vanderdecken. CHAPTER II. HOW I SAVED MAMIE BRUCE. ‘‘ Now,” said I, ‘‘ bow long bas she been ill?” “Three weeks,” said he. ‘‘She was sick about six weeks ago, but recovered, as we ns “What do you mean by that?” I asked. “Who thought?” “ or Van Vliet,” he said. ‘*Ob, then she’s been si weeks sick,” said IL ** Yes,” he answered, with some hesitation. I reflected. 1 bad been just that time in Bata- so she must have been in Te ed re was sho first taken ill?’ I asked. * At sea,” he answored, short! y: “ Under what circumstances? eo: was alarmed in the night by bad dreams.” “ Bad dreams? What do you mean?” “That she bad them—-that’s all,” 7 _ For the first time my willionaire’s eyes didn’t meet mine squarely, and I saw he was lying; but I bad no time to lose, so I went on, ‘You say she got better. Was she sensible?” ‘For a little, the doctor thinks,” “ Where was she then?’ “In Batavia, at the bouse of her grandfather’s papas, near the Malay quarter.” knew the quarter well enough, chock full of - miasma and typhoid germs. * When did she fall ill again?” “ The same day.” “ When was she moved here?” oe next day, I insisted on it asa healthier on. ‘Were you there?” ** Of course.” He stiffened up at this, as if he didn’t like - @lose questioning on non-medical subjects, so 6s What has been her treatment here?” “Blisters at the back of the neck, calomel, and bleeding,” he answered readily.. ‘‘Do you wish to see Doctor Van Vliet, doctor?’ “No,” I snapped out, ‘‘I don’t want to see the old butcher. Bleeding a woman when she’s mane dead fspcm weakness, confound him,” “She bad a bigh delirium,” be urged, *‘ and it vanished as soon as she was bled,” * Vanished!” Lechoed, ‘1 should say it did; um a . ' fs out of the arm of my fri ~ + e - and life will vanish too, if we can’t get some ood into her. Have you a swift horse and an intelligent groom, to go to my lodging?” ‘* As many as you like.” ‘* Very well.” I sat down and wrote a note to my landlady (the only Yankee woman I’d found in Batavia), telli-g her to send me my transfusion syringe and a box I described. This I sent off post-haste, and then I told my millionaire what I was going to do. I wanted a good healthy young person, who would consent to lose about six ounces of blood, to be sent into this poor girl’s veins. ‘* Go and find some one,” I said. Up jumped the Malay girl from her knees, and I saw that it was Inez Diaz, Miss Bruce’s maid. The poor girl must have loved her mistress de- votedly, for she implored me to let her be bled to save her mistress. But as soon as [d felt her pulse and looked at her, I told her it wouldn’t do, ‘* You’re more than half-sick yourself,” I told her. ‘‘I want astrong, healthy person.” Mr. Vanderdecken nodded. ‘‘T know where to find one,” he said. “Bring him to me,” I said. “I want to tase a look at him, to see if he’s a healthy sub- ‘Tf will send bim in,” he answered. He went out, and while I was waiting for the arrival of my instruments I took a g look at old Bruce, who seemed to be quite broken down by his loss, He knew me and nodded absently, mutter- ng: Eh, doctor, a sair sight—a sair sight! The last of the Bruces gaun fast. Eh, but God’s wull be dune!” ‘* Ay, ay,” I said to cheer him up, ‘‘ that’s all right. She won’t die this time, Mr, Bruce; not a bit of it.” He brightened up. ‘Oh, sir, d’ye think sae? Dinna jest wi’ me.” ‘‘T mean what I say. These Dutch butchers have just about finished her, but I’m going to save ber,” I said cheerfully, though I felt far from cheerful. ‘‘ Now, sir, | want you to drink sometbing for me. You're sick too, and dag want more than one on my hands at a me. ‘*T’ll do onything ye say, doctor,” he replied humbly, ‘‘ gin ye’ll only save my Mamie, Oh, sir, she’s all I hae in the wide warld.” ‘* Will you do what I say then?” I[ asked him. “*T will, sir, I will.” ** All right.” I saw the old man, and the girl too, were nearly beat out with anxiety and watching; so I gave them each about twenty drops of lauda- num, and sent them off, as the boy came in with my chest. Then 1 sent for Mr. Vanderdecken, and he came back with a tall Malay, who looked as wiry and pug asa race-horse in good condi- tion, and my host said quietly: ‘*Mr, Hassim has offered himself, doctor.” ‘‘Mr, Hassim’s just the man,” said I. ‘ He’s tough as whalebone, and won’t miss the blood, Does he talk English?” ‘‘ No,” said Vanderdecken hastily, “not a word. But he understandsit. Tell him what you want.” I told Hassim in English what I was going to do, and reminded him that, if he gave bis blood to save the life of a fellow-creature, he was do- ing a noble act. “It may make you feel faint,” I told him, ‘and if you are afraid, tell me, and I'll take some one else,” The Malay fixed his eyes on me, and then on the poor girlin the bed. He had very peculiar eyes, a pale hazel, looking green in most lights, but full of little specks of gray. I have always found such eyes among the most powerful. He had a very strong sensible face, full of de- cision and character, though his high cheek- bones and prominent nose, with two bends in it, made him decidedly plain in personal ap- pearance, He pointed to the patient and then laid his hand on his heart and motioned as if he was ready to pour out all the blood he had to save her; for be nodded and smiled, as if to express ae pleasure at the idea of being of service to er. ‘‘Now,” said I to Vanderdecken, “TI want some good women nurses here, when I’m through. If you can got a Sister of aerey so much the better. There’s a convent of them in Batavia, and they don’t get drunk and go to sleep like the hospital women, nor chatter like the young girls. Send for one at once.” *T shall do so,” said he, gravely, and he went away to give an order. | Then I told Has:im to show me his arm, and upon my word, I was delighted with it. I’ve seen plaster-casts of athlete’s arms that are beautiful; but this Malay had as pretty as any of them—not very gross, but so clean and sym- metrical, it was a pleasure to think of dissect- ing it. Te didn’t take me long to get ready for the operation, and I very soon had the pleasure of t six ounces of good: red, healthy end Hassim into ~ The Flying Dutchman of 1880. a — + wee tC a rr the veins of poor little Mamie Bruce, and ef hearing a low murmur of wonder going from the Malay servants, who had been ca in to help, as they saw the effects of the trans- fusion syringe. When I begun, the poor girl lay on the bed like a corpse, with pulse bardly perceptible, As the transfusion went on, the color returned to her cheeks, the glassy stare went out of hor eyes, and she closed them naturally, and fell fast asleep, like a baby. IT hadu’t time to watch an as I thought she had onough blood to assist na- turs, I turned to lo-k at Hassim’s ‘ace, and I was surprised to find that yellow Malry staring at that girl with an expression there was no mistaking—Id seen it so often in men looking at Mamie Bruce. The fellow was dead gone on her, and his eyes were swimming in tears as he looked, quite oblivious of my presence till 1 coughed. He bad lost six ounces of blood, and had a right to feel faint, but Vll swear he colored slightly when he caught my eye on him, and he turned away his face from the bed instantly, I bound up bis arm and told him to keep quiet and go to bed early, when he asked me ig lay (of which I had of course picked up ec nsid- erable by this time) whether I would need him again. “No,” I said, in English; ‘‘ if this doesn’t set her on the right road it’s no use ropeating the operation. If she wakes sensible I may want you again, to help her on her way to recovery.” He bowed first, and then seemed to think t was not respectful enough, for be treated me to a ceremonious salaam, Malay fashion, and went one clse, but as soon out. I watched by the bed alone for nearly two hours, when a nice, sensible-looking Sister of Charity, whom I bad seen before in the fever ssp came in and told me the Mother Su- perior had sent her to stay till the sick lady got w ell, ‘* How is it they can spare you so long, Sister Angela?” Iasked her. ‘ Not that I object, but I thought it was not according to your rules,” ee Angela wasn’t too pious to smile, so she said: ‘‘Rules are easily relaxed in special cases, doctor. Mr. Vanderdecken has endowed five beds in my ward of the Catholic Hospital to in- duce the Mother Superior to send me.” ‘“*All right,” I said. ‘‘He’s a good sort of man. Now attend to what I say.” And I gave ber full instructions to keep the room cool and dark, give the patient brandy aod water every time she awoke, and let ber sleep for all she was worth till I came back, And sleep she did, in a way that showed she had turned the corner at last. That murdering butcher of a Dutch doctor had killed the fever (if fever it was, which I suspected, from the svmptoms described, to have been meningitis,)* but had killed the pa- tient too. I mean what I say. As far as Mamie Bruce was concerned, she was about as dead as a door- nail when I got there. To be sure, some vital functions still went on, but the girl was dead to everything but the mechanical work of breathing, and almost ready to drop tbat too. in, with a man’s blood Now she was alive a in her veins, and hea Malay. As I rode off to Batavia in the evening, leaving word that I would come again at midnight if not wanted sooner, I thought of all this. I confess I felt not a little proud. It’s a good deal to think you’ve cheated death of a victim, and snatched her by main force from him. I'd saved Mamie Bruce’s life. ‘‘She would owe it to me,” I thought all the way home. Then the idea occurred to me: ‘*Not a bit of it. The Malay saved her, you. You didn’t give her a drop of blood. ‘* Yes, but if I'd not been there, the wouldn’t bave known enough to do it. I’m entitled to say | saved the girl’s life by my knowledge and ready resource.” “Not a bit of it. You could have done noth- ing but for the Malay. Your blood’s not ina fit state to weet anybody, and you have to look out for yourself.” ‘Well, I'll split the difference. I divide tha credit with the Malay.” And I left the argument at that. ; I had to fly around that evening pretty lively, and at eleven o’clock precisely, Mr. Vander- decken’s hp brougbt me a fresh horse, and took me at a tearing gallop to the villa. I asked him if anything was wrong, and be said not that he bad heard nothing, but bad come in { obedience to the orders I left behind me. I confess I was a little nervous abcut entering the grounds ‘at night, with Mr. Vanderdecken’s very eccentric “ pets” roaming around loose, but the syce told me they had all been shut up in the beast-house by the sahib’s order, as soom * Menincitis is another dog-Greek term for an in- flammation of the membranes surrounding certain organs of the brain, distinct from inflammation of the brain substance itself, which is exceedingly rare. es poe the noetor op to v4 pa soe where that there is no su ng as brain fever —or words to that effect.—Enprror. ,OO cS co GOMING a | = . a ee ee .