ht; they had
neighbours in to see him; they had music, and Dr. Crips sang, and danced,
and drank, and made love to Miss Dickson out under the elderberries. Out
under the elderberries, for the edification of Millie Dickson, Nicholas
Crips was a medical man of high attainments, but the victim of
extraordinary vicissitudes. It was very touching, most romantic. Nickie
lied with great splendour. He displayed no little aptitude in the
character of Don Juan too. Miss Dickson thought him a perfect dear.

Returning to the house for supper, Nickie and the ingenuous Millie
loitered by the open kitchen window, and Nickie saw and heard things of
no little interest to him professionally. Farmer Dickson and three
neighbours were comparing bottles of Dr. Crip's Celebrated Healing
Mixture.

"Anyhow," said one, "I'll swear his nibs sold me this ez a cure fer pip
in chickens."

"And he told me this was a dead sure cure fer corns 'n' ingrowin'
toe-nail," ejaculated another.

"I bought this bottle fer me diabetes," explained Coleman. "He said it ud
root out diabetes in nine hours."

Farmer Dickson shook his bottle, and looked at it very dubiously. "It
seems t' me it's all the same mixture," he said. "It looks like it,
tastes like, 'n' it smells like. Now I come t' think iv it, I ain't too
sure 'bout these blanky rheumatics o' mine." He reached down his back and
rubbed himself anxiously.

"I thought my diabetes was a-movin', but they're all back at me agin,"
said Coleman.

"The chicken died what I gave the mixture to," explained Anderson.

Dickson scowled and felt himself, for as far as he could reach up and
down his spine. "I'm pretty certain the rheumatics 're comin' back," he
murmured. "Wow!" he gasped, as a bad twinge took him. "It is back!"

"Tell yeh what," Anderson remarked plaintively, "we've been done."

"He's a blanky fraud!"

"A robber!"

"Let's look him up, 'n' 'ave a word or two."

The farmers seized their sticks. They moved towards the door, but already
Nickie had begged to be excused, and passed into the night. The stillness
and mystery of the bush enveloped him.

Next day the neighbours compared notes and bottles, and found that the
medicine for influenza, consumption, liver disease, indigestion and cold
feet, the embrocation for rheumatism, sprains, corns, bruises and
headaches, the cure for pigs, the wash for silvering spoons, and the
hair-restorer were all the same mixture. Then a great popular demand for