istinctly, "you might as well put poison into your stomach, as
those things. Cucumbers are the worst thing you can eat."

"Oh!" said the man, stuttering. "That's 'appen for them as doesn't
like them. I niver knowed a cumber do _me_ no harm, an' I eat 'em
like a happle." Whereupon the hawker took a "cumber" from his
barrow, bit off the end, and chewed it till the sap squirted.
"What's wrong with that?" he said, holding up the bitten cucumber.

"I'm not talking about what's wrong with that," said the doctor. "My
business is what's wrong with the stomach it goes into. I'm a
doctor. And I know that those things cause me half my work. They
cause half the internal troubles people suffer from in summertime."

"Oh ay! That's no loss to you, is it? Me an' you's partners. More
cumbers I sell, more graft for you, 'cordin' to that. What's wrong
then. _Cum-bers! Fine fresh Cum-berrrs! All fresh and juisty, all
cheap and tasty--!_" yelled the man.

"I am a doctor not only to cure illness, but to prevent it where I
can. And cucumbers are poison to everybody."

"_Cum-bers! Cum-bers! Fresh cumbers!_" yelled the man,

Dr. Mitchell started his car.

"When will they learn intelligence?" he said to Alvina, smiling and
showing his white, even teeth.

"I don't care, you know, myself," she said. "I should always let
people do what they wanted--"

"Even if you knew it would do them harm?" he queried, smiling with
amiable condescension.

"Yes, why not! It's their own affair. And they'll do themselves harm
one way or another."

"And you wouldn't try to prevent it?"

"You might as well try to stop the sea with your fingers."

"You think so?" smiled the doctor. "I see, you are a pessimist. You
are a pessimist with regard to human nature."

"Am I?" smiled Alvina, thinking the rose would smell as sweet. It
seemed to please the doctor to find that Alvina was a pessimist with
regard to human nature. It seemed to give her an air of distinction.
In his eyes, she _seemed_ distinguished. He was in a fair way to
dote on her.

She, of course, when he began to admire her, liked him much better,
and even saw graceful, boyish attractions in him. There was really
something childish about him. And this something childish, since it
looked up to her as if she were the saving grace, naturally
flattered her and made her feel gentler towards him.

He got in the habit of picking her up in his car, when he could. And
he would tap at the matron's doo