hysterics, and
she won't get over the shock of even a simple operation in a hurry,
especially if he is fool enough to attempt it without an anaesthetic."

The woman wavered for a moment, and then turned away without a word, and
shrugging his shoulders Morris strode down toward the entrance. A moment
later Silvia Holland came out of the ante-room.

"You can go in now," she said, "only don't disturb your child; she is
sleeping and you must be very quiet. Did you see Dr. Morris? Oh, there
he is."

Mindful of the amenities of life, she hurried to his side. His face was
dark with something more than anger, and did not lighten as she laid the
tips of her fingers on his arm.

"I know you will excuse me, Orrin," she said gently. "You mustn't be
angry with me, but I really feel as if I ought to see this through; the
poor woman needs me. You will forgive me?"

He looked at her with sudden passion. "Oh, yes, I forgive _you_," he
said, with unmistakable emphasis on the pronoun, and was gone. Silvia
Holland looked after him for a moment, conscious that, accustomed as she
was to his moods, this was quite a new one, and then joined Dr. Earl,
who had come into the foyer to say goodnight to the Ramseys and Frank
Earl, who had returned with the surgical appliances and found nothing
more that he could do. "By the way, old man," Dr. Earl called to his
brother-in-law, "send the machine back if you don't mind," and with a
word of thanks he re-entered the ante-room, followed by Miss Holland,
and closed the door against further interruption.

There was a sink in the room, with hot and cold water, and he directed
Miss Holland to cleanse the basin and implements in the boiling water,
and follow this up by dipping them in an antiseptic solution; in the
meantime he ripped the box to pieces, and selected two strips, which he
whittled into splints, shaping them to the child's leg, and working with
great rapidity. The bandages, cotton and other things were laid out upon
the table, and then he took the basin and a cloth and washed the wounds
on the head, putting back the tousled locks as carefully and tenderly as
a woman.

"Ordinarily," he said to his assistant, "I should have done this first,
but my examination showed that this injury is very slight. Of course she
has bled profusely, but it has come from the nose, and it looks pretty
bad, but there is nothing serious. Half a dozen stitches will be ample
for the scalp. Thread that needle with