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Show 3 i , f "' "" 1 Gambling With Death By J. U. CIER3Y trrm ! 1 tlfi. Ouubl.iUjr, Put C ) piIE Doctor and Death played the hand. An Iron bed wag the table acros the white surface of which the; faced one another ai opponents. Upon It lay the stakes a girl, dark-haired dark-haired as night, white faced as those little counters men use In playing games of chance. The Doctor glanced at her closed eyes, her pnrted lips, and It seemed to Mm that Death held the stronger hand. Under the light of the shaded hospital hos-pital lamp he examined his own. Very carefully he ran over the cards upon his handling of which the outcome hung, lie studied each In turn. There was the regular prescription. At best it had proved poor card. There was his hypodermic needle on a white enameled table, with Its group of small bottles of tablets good, at best, only for the tiding over of an emergency emer-gency of weakened vitality, there was adrenalin. There was a tnnk of j oxygens With It he could prolong the struggle probably no more. Surely it was a poor hand he held,. Sitting silent he summed up his adversary's ad-versary's strength. There was a falling fall-ing heart, a labored respiration, ob-tunding ob-tunding nervous sensibility, the delirium deli-rium of a fever-poisoned brulu four cards, any one of which meant victory for his opponent unless he himself could till his hand with a better. He glanced at the woman's husband, while his fingers groped lightly for her thready pulse. The hiisiiand was a young man. His eyes met the doctor's In the dumb appeal ap-peal of mental misery. "How Is she?" he framed with his lips rather than spoke the question In his brain. The physician shook his head slightly. slight-ly. Then with a steady hand he made his first statu Filling the hypodermic hypoder-mic with a tablet In solution he deftly Injected the contents Into the girl's white arm. Death paused ere he returned the lead. Almost It seemed to the Doctor that he hesitated before the bold front of the man against whom he played. Very slowly the thread of the pulse under examining finger gained volume. A half hope stirred correspondingly In his heart He glanced at the husband again, hesitated, hesi-tated, sensed the pulse once more It faltered, was failing. Death played his return he had raised. The husband came to the bed. "Is there any hope?" he begged. "There must be," the Doctor whispered. whis-pered. He was making ready his next play. Again the needle came into use. It was adrenalin be fed under un-der the pallid covering of the woman's arm. Again he sat down and looked across at Death with a grim defiance in his eyes. Again Death raised. Cold perspiration dewed th physician's physi-cian's forehead. As one acting from predetermination he dropped the regular reg-ular medicine far back upon the patient's pa-tient's tongue. Death seal Mly noticed the action. The effect was negative. It was as though be leered above a winning band. "Is there any hope?" The voice of the husband again. "It's a gamble gamble." The physlclun beard himself answer while his mind ran over the game be played. He bad been bluffing and Death knew It Of what use to bluff with Death? In bis wearied condition it came to half seem that he could sense the grim specter across the bed. In the dim light his opponent took on the seeming of a personality. Seizing the oxygen tank, be wheeled It to the bed, adjusted its mask to the girl's face. Again It appeared that his adversary adver-sary paused. A little color crept Into the lips of the woman, her cheat heaved less palnf a y. But would It-could It-could It last! 'W.y back In his mind the Doctor knew that once more Death would raise. He glanced at the husband. He was his last card. "She's a little better, Isn't she?" the younger man asked. "She needs blood blood," said t.he Doctor hoarsely. "She needs good, healthy blood. Boy will you give It to her?" "How?" The .reply was eager, firm. With a quick stride the Doctor reached a small table, drew It Into the circle of tight. He swept his arm above the instruments upon It. ' So from your arm to hers transfusion," he returned. The husband, merely nodded, removed re-moved his coat, began rolling back his sleeve. Little by little, as the man grew paler, the woman's color Improved. Little by little the pulse pnder the Doctor's fingers grew firmer, steadied the breathing attuned Itself. His eyes staring Into the hollow sockets of the specter with whom he gambled, he stood and waited. Suddenly he checked the flow, removed re-moved the tubes and cast them from him. He began to laugh, softly, as a chnckle louder and louder, until the cacchlnation rang through the room In horrible wave of an almost Insane exultation. - Her arm about him, the nurse stead-led stead-led him from the room, and atlU as he went he laughed. "Beaten I I've beaten you,- Death I I held It back on you, Death I It was my ace In the bole I tou thought you had me but I beat youl I beat yon. Death with Life!" Yet no one wondered at this overwrought over-wrought emotion, for the woman was the Doctor's only child. |