ANOTHER FEVER VICTIM
The account the doctor gave Nurse Blunt of the deplorable state of the sickness in Willowton would have made a weaker woman quail, but Nurse Blunt was strong in body and mind.
"I mayn't sit up night, sir, as you know," she said, "but I'll do my best all day; and I'll begin at six o'clock to-morrow morning if you'll give me list of the most urgent cases."
The doctor took out his pocket-book.
"Four cases in Gravel-pit Lane," he read, "two in the main street, three in the back alley. None of these are particularly dangerous ones, but they all require great care, as you know, and the difficulty is to prevent their relations feeding them with forbidden things."
"I know that well, sir," said the nurse sorrowfully; "I've had a great many sad experiences of that. Many a poor thing has died through being given solid food at a time when nothing but milk should have been allowed."
"Yes," assented the doctor, "of course, it is as you say; and it has been the cause of death to several of our people. I cannot make them see the necessity for following my orders implicitly; they think it does not matter, or I won't find out. Well, perhaps I don't, but nature does, and we soon see the result."
"Where shall I go first?" asked nurse.
"Well, there is a new case declared only this afternoon—a Mrs. Lummis, a nice woman, a widow. She has no one really to look after her but a lazy ne'er-do-weel of a son. Perhaps you had better go there first. She will not keep you long. Everything will be neat; and though very poor, I fancy she knows what ought to be. If wanted, I'll give you an order for milk. Major Bailey has telegraphed from South Africa that his dairy (and he keeps a lot of cows) is at our disposal. You'd better tell her son he must go for it every morning." He wrote out an order as he spoke. "The others have all got them," he continued.
And after receiving a few more important directions, the nurse took her leave and strolled back through the village to her lodgings.