had not been betrayed into
drinking wine enough to disturb seriously my nervous system and leave
it weak and uncertain to-day, if Mr. Ridley had not been tempted to his
fall, if poor Archie Voss had been at home last night instead of in the
private drinking-saloon of one of our most respected citizens, do you
think that hand," holding up his right hand as he spoke, "would have
lost for a moment its cunning to-day and put in jeopardy a precious
life?"

The doctor rose from his chair in much excitement and walked nervously
about the room.

"It did not lose its cunning," said Doctor Kline, in a calm but
emphatic voice. "I watched you from the moment of the first incision
until the last artery was tied, and a truer hand I never saw."

"Thank God that the stimulus which I had to substitute for nervous
power held out as long as it did. If it had failed a few moments
sooner, I might have--"

Doctor Hillhouse checked himself and gave another little shudder.

"Do you know, doctor," he said, after a pause speaking in a low,
half-confidential tone and with great seriousness of manner, "when I
severed that small artery as I was cutting close to the internal
jugular vein and the jet of blood hid both the knife-points and the
surrounding tissues, that for an instant I was in mental darkness and
that I did not know whether I should cut to the right or to the left?
If in that moment of darkness I had cut to the right, my instrument
would have penetrated the jugular vein."

It was several moments before either of the surgeons spoke again. There
was a look something like fear in both their faces.

"It is the last time," said Doctor Hillhouse, breaking at length the
silence and speaking with unwonted emphasis, "that a drop of wine or
brandy shall pass my lips within forty-eight hours of any operation."

"I am not so sure that you will help as much as hurt by this
abstinence," replied Doctor Kline. "If you are in the habit of using
wine daily, I should say keep to your regular quantity. Any change will
be a disturbance and break the fine nervous tension that is required.
It is easy to account for your condition to-day. If you had taken only
your one or two or three glasses yesterday as the case may be, and kept
away from the excitement and--pardon me excesses of last
night--anything beyond the ordinary rule in these things is an excess,
you know--there would have been no failure of the nerves at a critical
juncture."

"Is not