High science was to be brought to bear upon rascality, and he must move cautiously and quickly. The instant the patient was unconscious, Elmer bent over him and turned back his coat, and from the inside pocket he drew forth a folded paper. He had caught a glimpse of it when he looked in the man's mouth, and on the spur of the moment he had conceived and put into practice this bold stroke of applied science. Making the man comfortable, and giving him a little air with the gas, he opened the paper and spread it wide open before a pile of books in the full sunlight. The patient stirred uneasily. With a breathless motion Elmer plied him with more gas, and he sighed softly and slumbered deeper than ever. With a spring he reached the camera, rolled it up before the paper, and set in a new slide. It copied the paper with terrible certainty, and then, without reading it, Elmer folded the paper up again and restored it to his patient's pocket.
The patient revived. He put his hand in his mouth. The tooth was still there.
"Why, you didn't touch it?"
"No. I was delayed a bit. Take the gas again."
The man submitted, and inhaled more gas. At the instant he slumbered the forceps were deftly plied and the tooth removed. Bathing the man's face with water, the young dentist watched him closely till he revived again.
"Do you feel better?"
"Better! Why, I'm not hurt! Is it really out?"
"Yes. There it is in the washbowl."
"You did very well, young man. Excellently. I'm sure I'm much obliged."
"You're welcome," replied Mr. Franklin. "It was a trifling affair."