Show r F DEPUTY OF F THE DEVIL L r BENr 13 BEN BENu u AMES ES WILLIAMS UN AMES WILLIAMS W NU W SERVICE Continued rom i ibi I When Doctor saw the end nd of ot the task in sight he spoke to Nancy Enough ether take ether take the l I towel away now She obeyed and he finished sure that what he had done was well eU done with r f nod toMary to toMary toMary Mary Ann he withdrew from the table where Dan lay He went ent ent to the sink to wash his hands Nancy was there leaning back against the drain board white and still Doctor looked at his daughter and he asked gently Head Head ache It s the fumes Get out of doors We must keep Dan warm cant can t open any windows here Nancy went obediently toy tov ard and the kItchen door and Mary Ann said We We U 11 move him into the dining dining- room dining room arrange some sort of screen around him there to keep oft otT drafts Doctor nodded He said wearilY It Its s been b en a strain My head s I whirling A surgeon should never operate on his friends 1 You did all that could be done did it perfectly Mary Ann assured him and she asked with a sudden weakening in her tones her first con con- confession confession con confession of fear tear Tell me what you think Doctor hesitates hesitated Ev Ev- Ev- Ev Everything Everything was as fortunate as possible possible possible ble he said There are many per per- perforations perforations as you saw That was m- m inevitable in inevitable evitable But not much poisonous matter free tree Of ot course ourse all ail we could do was repair the damage and drain the wound and and walt wait You know that as well as I He lie added Yet Yet Yet-I I believe he will get better With Thomas and Jerrell Terrell helping they carried Dan into the the th dining room and laid a mattress on the table for tor his bed and set a fire on the hearth And thus began the Ule vigil that must endure for tor days Doctor assumed commands command Another pro pro- procedure procedure may be necessary later or he explained Ill I U get whatever weare we weare weare are likely Weely to need have it ready He lIe He telephoned to Boston and ar- ar arranged arranged ranged that a full kit should be dis dispatched dis- dis dispatched dispatched patched by messenger He suggest suggest- suggested suggested ed a nurse but Mary Ann nega nega- nega- nega that I 1 shall be within call always she she said And Nan Nancy y will want to help Any unnecessary people could only add to the Ule contusion confusion He needs quiet needs to sleep He assented Yes that s true he he agreed But But I must let Father know she remembered Doctor said quickly Of course And he urged Have hIm come up here Mary Ann He was suddenly and for no tangible reason eager to see Professor Profesor Car CarlIsle Carlisle Carlisle lIsle again Jerrell took this matter i i hand he volunteered to drive to Boston and fetch Dan s father Its It's bet better better better ter than having him make mak the trIp alone he he said And I And I must con contess conless confess less tess my fault tault to him Mary Ann She reassured him It U wasn t your fault It was an accident she she urged Yet she let him go Thomas took him in m the boat to the landing where he had left hIS hIScar hiscar hiscar car He would they decided return next ne t day Dusk began to creep across the lake and cloak the island Dan was drowsily conscious murmuring murmur murmuring murmuring ing absurdities and realizing their absurdity and chuckling a himself and Nancy close by him holding hi hi- hi hand laughed with him aver so tenderly Mary Ann had made a couch in the billiard room close by where he lay After dinner they dinner ate in the kitchen in relays one of them always alv ays by his side side Mary MaryAnn Ann insisted that Doctor reeding go to bed for a while Ill Ill I'll call you later she prom prom- promised promised promised Nancy will stay with hIm and sleep here and we ve U 11 call you So Doctor went to his room but at first he did not sleep He turned on all the lights unwilling unwilling mg ing that there should be anywhere a shadowed corner comer in which any any- anything anything anything thing or nothing might be hidden The mans man's nerves began to twitch raggedly He had a sense of dark forces gathering like a smothering cloud He slept at last uneasily and when at last some one came tapping at his door he woke with a abound abound abound bound and a cry i It s Nancy Father FloUter the girl said rea reassuringly through the panels pan els eIs It s all aU right Nothing s hap hap- happened happened Only Mary Ann thought you might come down for tor awhile a while hUe now I At At once he promised steadily enough yet it was in fact some sometime sometime sometime time before he was sufficiently nUy corn com composed posed to face them When he came down tars he found Mary Piary Ann cameI by I Dans Dan's side Nancy half asleep in a great chair near Doctor touched D Dan l s wrist l ls his s brow ow andI and I nodded not ed reassuringly and Mary Ann smiled She went vent to spread a blanket gently over Nancy You You lie down too Doctor directed She bhe obeyed him white and weary and Doctor was left len wIth the hurt man He stood beside Dan Danfor I for a moment then he too sit down sat I-sat sat sat without moving while long thoughts absorbed ab orbed him Sometime later he looked toward Nancy Her tier eyes were open He saw the glint of them Awake dear he murmured She smiled I I had a bid dream she whispered But It its s saU aU all right if you re here And she sighed and sl slept pt again Her faith was like a draft of warming wine Hours later Nancy roused and came and stood with her hand touching Dans Dan's His fingers closed faintly over hers He He knows me Nancy whis whis- whispered whis- whis whispered whispered and Dan muttered Nancy There Here Here always Dan Hush now darling Sleep She held him In her love as a mother holds a babe in arms anna Doc Doe Doctor aI I tor drew back into the shadows while she took his place at ather ather ather her lovers lover's side And so at last thelong the thelong thelong atI I long night ended darkness yield yield- yielding yielding yielding ing to the wa warm gray of dawn CHAPTER X dawnI I There followed days of waiting of I that inaction wh h is s more more difficult than action when they could only tend the hurt man and I seek to cheer him with their smiles feeding with the fuel of 01 their un untainted un- un unI un untainted I tainted strength the flickering fire of life that burned in him Sometimes he was in torment but he managed to grin despite the pain hiding his I anguish behind a brave mask of I mirth muth from these folk tolk who loved him I He did thus deceive Nancy but at such hours his brow was wet butI I and Mary Ann knew he suffered and eased him as she could I Doctor himself seldom went far tar from where the hurt manlay man manlay manlay lay He clung to Dan s proximity I as a mariner n fn n stormy weather I clings to safe anchorage witha with witha a jealous diligence Here was his I task and his desire to make sure first of all that Dan came back t to I health again He would w not by even evena a brief absence take the least risk i of at failure I The vigil left its mart marl upon him so that even Mary Ann urged him t to rest to walk around the island or i take a n boa boat t ride or find some oth- oth other oth other othIer er means of ot distraction oth-I oth Lou ou au need it she insisted You re deadly tired I I m all right he protested I 11 stand by Jerre Jerrell byI and Professor Carlisle had I arrIved early on the first morning having left Cambridge at dawn Doctor welcomed them There was rising In him a deep af- af affection affection af affection for these folk tolk a new per per- perception perception perception of the kindliness and under under- understanding understanding standing in 10 them all Jerrell for in- in instance instance in instance stance had not offered to throw the resources of his wealth at theIr disposal his silence seemed to as- as assume assume as assume sume that whatever could be done I for Dan they would do Some men Doctor reflected ted would ha have e displayed the arrogance natural to financial power po would ha have ve insisted on summoning other physicIans nurses on importing hospItal facilities of every kind He liked Jerrell for his reticence inthis in inthis this direction l And Doctor had where the others were v ere concerned e even een en enmore more personal reasons for gratitude gratitude gratitude tude The accident to Dan was after all his fault and Nancy and Dan too too since since they were were familiar with firearms must firearms must know this Yet YetI I neither reproached him or offered him blame He welcomed Professor Prof Carlisle s sI coming as an opportunity for con con- confession confession confession hoping by an open admission I sion of his culpability to ease his own heart and he took the first con con- convenient convenient occasion He and Jerrell were in the big living room Mary MaryAnn MaryAnn MaryAnn Ann and Nancy and Professor Car Car- Carlisle Carlisle lisle were with Dan in the dining dining- room dining room the length of the house away Then Professor Carlisle came back from Dans Dan's side and he asked Doc Doe Doctor Doctor tor You think he has a chance Doc Doc- Doctor Doctor torT tor Mary Ann says that is your opinion I believe so yes Doctor Greed Greed- ing lag assented And he said to Jer Jer- Jerrell Jer- Jer Jerrell Jerrell rell as well as to Professor Car Car- Carlisle Carlisle Carlisle lisle I I hope so Because Pro Professor Protessor lessor fessor this was not Jerrell s fault tault it was mine I Jerrell protested generously t Hardly Ned It was my clumsiness clumsiness clumsiness ness I But Professor Carlisle v waited watching Doctor and the surgeon said explicitly No Ira He lie spoke to Dans Dan's father You You see Professor Car lisle I had just fired the pistol I I removed the thc empty clip thinking I 1 had fired the tho last cartridge Most I accidents with automatics occur through just such carelessness as asI mine I 1 should have worked the thet I t action to be sure that the barrel was empty I neglected to do this I should have made sure the gun was empty before giving it to Jerrell I He smiled frankly No No one hay has ha blamed me he confessed They ve ye bl al I been mighty kind and generous But it was my fault fault Just just the same j Neithel man spoke and he added honestly I As As a matter of fact tact this thia was wast worse orse than carelessness With that particular pistol if the barrel is empty the action stays half open ill i The The fhe fact tact that it was closed dosed should have warned me that there was stilla aU still a cartridge in the barrel I was in incredibly in- in incredibly credibly stupid There was a moment s silence Then Jerrell said uncomfortably Decent of you to say that that Ned But Dut after all aU if I hadn t pointed the gun at Dan DanTo I To be continued |