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Show FICT ION I higgles on duty 1 Pi By MARY WHITEFORD 1 "W I Co titer f I1. l MR. DIGGLES kept his head , down as though he were studying study-ing the prescription, scarcely hearing hear-ing Mrs. Tompkins' voice through the noise of blood thudding in his temples. When he tried to speak, his lips were dry and his tongue moved nervously over them. "I beg your pardon, Mrs. Tompkins, what' was that you said?" "I said it you haven't a delivery boy I'll wait for the three o'clock bus, but I'm anxious to get back aa soon as I can." He looked again at Dr. Price's cramped handwriting. "Oh, I'll deliver de-liver it Mrs. Tompkins. I'm sorry to learn Mr. Tompkina Isn't well." "I told him it's Just his bad dls-r""'tion dls-r""'tion coming out. I told Dr. Price I certainly I hated to drag him 3 Minutt ut In weather like , Fictlon stomach ache. ' Doctor says he'U be all right In a day or two." Mr. Diggles took the handkerchief handker-chief from the pocket of his grey alpaca coat and wiped his forehead. The moment he used to dream of years ago, was here at last. This would cost Dr. Price his practice. The pity was. Dr. Price would never know he could have saved himself, if he hadn't made it so clear that a man who mixed prescriptions pre-scriptions wasn't supposed to know about diagnosis. Dr. Price would never know what he'd done to himself him-self when he told Mrs. White she might aa well give the twins a chocolate soda as Diggles' Own Whooping Cough Mixture Because of Dr. Price's new ways of doing things, no one bought Diggles' Ready Rheumatism Reliever now. Shots, It was, the doctor was giving giv-ing for everything. Not prescriptions prescrip-tions tUnlaughtrr. they called it. lie wet hi Hps. Well, no one could expert Mr. Dingle to Interfere In-terfere with lr. Price's pre- Tiptiona n'-itn Nut a nccond 'ue . ...u,i. . .. so main . c.i' km could feel the flush of aner j I th' rUioufd hi (ace remembering I the lay he'd cnlled Dr Price up. 1 and suggested that maybe the hcurt medicine he ordered for Mr Ven-xhles Ven-xhles was too strong ' know what I'm dou,: Juki tuiiiu your own business Digiiles. and I can mind mine " ' He looked again at the . m-mi uon There was no mistakin ne ' symbol and he'd till It as it Me reached for the bottle and r-I r-I moved the cork. Carefully, he mens ured out the prescribed dove MR DIGGLES straightct.c" nil dcnly. stiirmg at the partly filled mortar A feeling of nni!ea swept through him as he snatched it up and flung the content! into the sink His hand, replacing the but tie on the shelf, trembled Outside, the wind howled and flakes of Ice made a cold noise beating the window pane. Slowly, he walked toward the telephone. After all, Just aa many people swore by Dr Price its trusted Diggles. As he waited, listening to Dr. Price'a telephone bell ringing, the shop door opened. Mr. Diggles put down the receiver and went to the front. Dr. Price was on the mat, stamping the snow from his feet. "Diggles, will you let me see the prescription Mrs. Tompkina Just brought In?" "I was just trying to caU you about it. Dr. Price. I felt there was some little Inaccuracy." Dr. Price nodded. "Something told me. But I wasn't really worried. wor-ried. I knew you'd catch a mistake If there was one. It's a great comfort com-fort to me to know that a substantial substan-tial man like you la checking up on me, Diggles." "I have to do what I can. A man has to do his duty." He smiled and stood up. "That's right doctor. I guess duty becomes a habit if you do It long enough." The wind screamed into the shop as Dr. Price opened the door and went out It was a bleak, bitter day, but in Mr. Diggles' Dig-gles' heart it was suddenly summer. |