"Good heavens!" said he, as he sat down heavily. "Is it an epidemic?"
The principal shrugged his shoulders in bewilderment.
"More mumps." He beckoned to the larger of the two boys. "Now it's your turn."
The older urchin was sturdily built, with a deep coat of tan on his face that no city sun had ever bred.
"What's wrong with you?"
The situation was beginning to pall. The position of school doctor, newly created by the Board of Education at the close of the spring term, carried no munificent salary. The young practitioner had grasped at the opening because the routine work offered golden opportunities for acquiring a clientele among the parents of the various pupils. Now, almost at the outset, a whole morning had been consumed, and there was promise of a great deal more work in the future.
There didn't seem to be anything seriously the matter with the boy. He felt bruised all over, that was all.
"Where does it hurt the most?"
"Around my back."
"Here?" The doctor placed his hands firmly on either side of the patient's spine.