IN THE "ABILENE" COUNTRY 99 



smooth for him because I was a college graduate, 

 and I feared Asa was too cunning for me because 

 he was a foxy old quack. 



Anyhow, Asa kept on dragging me around on 

 his calls, and after a time he got so that he 

 depended on me a great deal. He got so that he 

 would depend on me to carry thermometers, 

 trocars, hypos and other utilities; he knew I 

 usually kept these in my pockets and he soon 

 acquired the habit of leaving his things in the 

 office. 



When we arrived on the scene of trouble he 

 would say to me, "Doc, take his fever with that 

 there thermometry of yourn." 



When he had diagnosed the case and received 

 my confirmation of the findings he would say, 

 "Well, Doc, shoot the hypo to him;" which meant 

 for me to do whatever I thought ought to be 

 done. 



One night after I had gone to bed a call came 

 from a rancher about eight miles north of town. 

 Dr. Asa wanted me to accompany him on the 

 trip as usual, but I played sick and refused to 

 go. He stuck around for at least a quarter of an 

 hour trying to induce me to go with him, but I 

 remained firm and refused to be induced. Fin- 

 ally he left, and I went back to sleep. It seemed 

 to me that I had been sleeping only a short time 

 when I was awakened by Dr. Asa calling my 

 name. When I looked up I saw him feeling 

 through my vest pockets, cussing a string of 

 cuss-words the while. " You're a fine graduate, 

 you are," he yells at me, "let a feller drive eight 



