struments, bandages and all things needed for the work to be done.

When all these preparations were completed, notice was given to Mrs.
Carlton, who immediately entered from the adjoining room. She was a
beautiful woman, in the very prime of life, and never had she appeared
more beautiful than now. Her strong will had mastered fear, strength,
courage and resignation looked out from her clear eyes and rested on
her firm lips. She smiled, but did not speak. Doctor Hillhouse took her
by the hand and led her to the table on which she was to lie during the
operation, saying, as he did so, "It will be over in a few minutes, and
you will not feel it as much as the scratch of a pin."

She laid herself down without a moment's hesitation, and as she did so
Doctor Angier, according to previous arrangement, presented a sponge
saturated with ether to her nostrils, and in two minutes complete
anaesthesis was produced. On the instant this took place Doctor
Hillhouse made an incision and cut down quickly to the tumor. His hand
was steady, and he seemed to be in perfect command of himself. The
stimulants he had taken as a last resort were still active on brain and
nerves. On reaching the tumor he found it, as he had feared, much
larger than its surface presentation indicated. It was a hard, fibrous
substance, and deeply seated among the veins, arteries and muscles of
the neck. The surgeon's hand retained its firmness; there was a
concentration of thought and purpose that gave science and skill their
best results. It took over twenty minutes to dissect the tumor away
from all the delicate organs upon which it had laid its grasp, and
nearly half as long a time to stanch the flow of blood from the many
small arteries which had been severed during the operation. One of
these, larger than the rest, eluded for a time the efforts of Doctor
Hillhouse at ligation, and he felt uncertain about it even after he had
stopped the effusion of blood. In fact, his hand had become unsteady
and his brain slightly confused. The active stimulant taken half an
hour before was losing its effect and his nerves beginning to give way.
He was no longer master of the situation, and the last and, as it
proved, the most vital thing in the whole operation was done
imperfectly.

At the end of thirty-five minutes the patient, still under the
influence of ether was carried back to her chamber and laid back upon
her bed, quiet as a sleeping infant.

"It is all over,"