1897 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



:?15 



quire whether a case was deserving. 

 The fact that a mau or -woman was ill 

 was all that she cared about. Their 

 crimes and shortcomings she left to 

 other people. 



Miss Shepherd listened to my story 

 with her usuiJ sjTiipathy. 



"There is only one young lady I can 

 send," she said thoughtfully, "and she 

 has not had much experience. However, 

 we must do something. I'll introduce 

 her to you and see what you think. ' ' 



It is a curious thing that on first see- 

 ing that girl she did not strike me as at 

 hll good looking. Since then I have 

 learned to know her well, and I think 

 her one of the most beautiful women in 

 the world. 



In these years of work among the 

 poorest of the poor I met no woman of 

 such a radiant, glorious nature as the 

 pale faced girl whom 1 saw for the first 

 time that itaturday evening. 



To my great disappointment on reach- 

 ing the sickroom her composure quite 

 gave way. I had hoped she would be 

 strong enough to maintain her self con- 

 trol, instead of. which she trembled and 

 tamed deadly white, looking almost in- 

 clined to burst into tears. 



"Come, come. Miss Clinton!" I said. 

 "You must get accustomed to scenes of 

 distress. If j-ou break down, you won't 

 be able to help me at all. ' ' 



"I beg your pardon, Dr. Prebble, " 

 she stammered hastily. "It was only 

 the first shock. Everything is so horri- 

 ble. You may depend on my doing 

 what you reqiiire. ' ' 



Th(u I exi luined the case to her care- 

 fully and taught her the duties of a 

 atirse as wen as l could in such a snore 

 iime. 



Mi.5S Clinton must have nursed her 

 patient better than I expected she 

 would, for he passed a fairly good night, 

 and when I saw him at 11 o'clock ru 

 Sunday morning the fever had alated 

 somewhat, leaving him, of course, very 

 weak and in a more or less precarious 

 condition. 



The nurse whom Miss Shepherd had 

 sent to take charge of the case during 

 the day was a highly experienced wom- 

 an, whom I knew well. 



"It's a bad case, doctor, " she said. 

 "Will you pull him through?" ' • 



"I can't sayy^t, " I answered. '^As!t 

 me tomorrow i„oming. What tide did 



you relieve iviiss uimton.' 



"At 8 o'clock. She didn't like to go 

 away, but I insisted on her having a 

 rest. I can't help thinking that Miss 

 Clinton takes something of a personal 

 interest in the case, " said the day nurse. 

 "Have you read the morning's paper?" 



"Not yet. Is there anything in it?" 



She produced a Sunday paper and 

 pointed to a paragraph headed "Daring 

 Attempted Burglary. ' ' The burglars 

 had entered a window on the first floor 

 by means of a ladder, but they were 

 disturbed at their work and had been 

 forced to escape hurriedly, leaving the 

 booty behind them. It struck me at 

 once that in all probability Bill was one 

 of the burglars. In making his escape 

 he had no doubt fallen from the ladder 



But there w^as another feature in the 

 case which was more striking still. The 

 owner of the house which had been en- 

 tered was named Clinton. 



On first seeing the sick man Miss 

 Clinton had lost her composure to an 

 extent that .surprised me. What was the 

 link that bound these three people to- 

 gether — a wealthy city merchant, a 

 young lady devoting herself to work 

 among the poor and a broken down 

 ex-convict lying sick, perhaps dying, in 

 an east end slum? 



On returning to his bedside at 5 

 o'clock in the afternoon I found Miss 

 Clinton was again on duty. She was 

 quite calm and self possessed and with- 

 out a trace of nervous excitement. 



The progr'^ss which had been shown 

 in the morning was all lost and a 

 change had set in for the worse. A brief 

 examination told me that he was in a 

 state of collapse, which was the one 

 thing I dreaded. Within a few hours 

 he would be a dead man. 



"When will it be?" she said in a 

 steady voice. 



"Before midnight," I answered. 

 "Would you like me to stay with you, 

 or shall I ask Miss Shepherd to send 

 somebody in your place?" 



"I will watch alone." 



"Are you a relative of the Mr. Clin- 

 ton whose I -use was entered Saturday 

 morning?" 1 asked, leading her to the 

 window. 



"He is my uncle, " she said. 



"And wh< is Bill?" I asked. 



"He is n:y Lrother. " 



She tnoke in the same sfeadv vninp 



