The Key West Citizen Newspaper, September 4, 1947, Page 9

Rt Sener me on ae THE KEY WEST CITIZEN Chapter 20 sons, Elsa was warming up their battered old coupe. In spite of his anxiety the WHEN Doug reached the Lar- aaa of the statement touched oug. “A good doctor has no -holi- He! days,” he pointed out. “You know moved in beside her and before | that, sir.” she could slide from beneath the steering wheel, his hands gripped her shoulders. “Elsa, I know he’ll pull through this. You believe that too.” Her eyes, enormous with fear, met his tearfully. “Doug, he _The sir was an echo of army discipline that had, ordered his life for the past five years—there was nothing in the appearance or reputation of Doc Ludlow to de- mand respect from any man. But to arouse him. As he fumbled mustn’t die! He means every-|for his glasses his eyes said, “It’s thing to me—he’s family.” “T’ll bring Doc Ludlow back in a hurry. If I can’t locate him I'll call long distance and get structions.” He watched her ster out, then recalling Hardin’s con- temptuous smile when Elsa sug- ested Doc Ludlow dress Elmo’s roken hand, he called out “Bet- ter make some strong coffee and keep it hot!” Doc Ludlow’s tiny office was over the town’s combination bar- ber shop and beauty perlor. Doug raced up the narrow outside stairway and pushed into my whole the gloomy unlit interior. The: were no patients waiting in the small bare ante-room and the entrance to the examining room yawned emptily. in-| the | clinic. The door swung listlessly | beneath his hand as he entered] grassed a i dignity of the word seemed a long time since anyone has icalled me that.” “Who’s sick?” he said with a show of interest. “Old Sven Larson. ... He | seems to have had a heart at- i “Sven, eh? About time for an- other of his spells, but at that he’s a tougher old nut than his grand- aughter seems ‘to think.” “She’s quite frightened this time,” Doug said. “Hmmm.” With a surprisingly jenergetic bound the little doctor ;got to his feet and trotted into the bathroom where he began splashing-ccld water on his face. few minutes !ater he was nd checking the contents ©jof his battered black bag. Doug took the narrow outside stairway three steps at a time and had the coupe engine racing when Lud- low clambered in beside him. Swearing softly he pushed on} to another room, A series of gasp- ing snores issued from it and as he crossed the threshold the heavy stench of whiskey seeped toward him. His fingers reached for the light switch and pressed it. The recumbent figure on the bed did not stir. Doug’s fingers were not gentle as they shook the touseled heap of humanity. “Doc Ludlow! Wake up!” His only reply was an unin- telligible muttering. Cursing with sheer exasperation he went into | ¢ the bathroom, soaked a towel in cold water and slapped it vigor- ‘ ously on the doctor’s face. This brought results. |" PHEY spoke only once during Next, to the young people’s be- wilderment, Doc Ludlow picked up the newspaper Sven had been reading and scanned the folded page. After a minute he put it aside with a grunt and grasped the empty tea cup. His crooked finger described a circle inside the bottom then went to his Digitalis! mouth. Now w would he do that?” ad “Unh! “Do what?” Elsa said. “He’s taken an overdose of heart medicine.” The doctor’s tiny blue eyes probed Elsa’s sharply. “Has he been worried about anything lately?” “Of course,—we've all been worried about these accidents in the outfit, but I don’t see...” Suddenly the real import of the medical man’s words struck Elsa and all the color that had drained from her face during the crisis, rushed back to her cheeks. “Doc Ludlow! How can you even suggest such a thing! Sven is a fighter!” “I know that, girl.” Ludlow’s features were twisted into a knot of bewilderment. “And attempted suicide is an ugly phrase, but the fact remains that your grand- father took an overdose o digi- talis. What was he drinking?”: “Hot milk. He has a cup every afternoon at this time.” . 14 “Hmmm... Don’t see how: it could be accidental—heart victims are usually pretty damned cau- tious about measuring their dose, the fast ride to ihe Larsons.| Well, this should fix him up.” ’ Doc asked something about old Sven and Doug muttered between tight Eps that he hadn’t seen the sick man. When they skidJce i _. He prepared a syringe, plunged it into the old man’s bared arm, hen turned back to Elsa. “I want nto | to get some hot coffee down him the yard Elsa was waiting on the, 2S soon as he comes to, He’s not porch. She led them broad-beamed living room. into the} VeTy badly off,’ girl.” His smile was meant to be encouraging but Sven Larson was slumped in his| 0" his flaccid sieep-muddled face favorite leather chair before a | dying fire. A newspaper was fold- ed across his knees and an empty ea cup stood on the table beside hes Doc Ludlow felt his pulse then lifted his eyelid and stared at the old man’s pupil. Next his stethescope rested for. several Doc Ludlow sat up abruptly, | minutes against Sven’s chest. his bleary blue eyes peering at Doug with reproach, his uncer- tain hand pushing back wisps of graying reddish hair. “It’s Saturday,” he announced, “I’m not open for business.” a a a a ee Cumberland Restores Its Famous Caves AP Newstfeatures UMBERLAND, Md.—The sub- terranean passages of old Fort Cumberland, about which George Washington wrote in his reports on the frontier, have come to life again. But not to the life of blood, rum, and gunpowder they knew when Cumberland was Britain’s remotest outpost, with a wilder- ness controlled by French and Indians bevond them. Today the passages are light- ed brick caverns which a fam- ily may explore on a Sunday afternoon, The restoration has been car- ried out by members of the Em- manuel Episcopal Church, which stands directly over the old fort. 755 that Col. James It was in 1755 Innes ordered the fort built. In enn ee | ‘ ! | | | | | | j the same year Gen. Braddock ar- | “Is it—has he had a stroke?” The words emerged from Elsa’s trembling lios as though she had difficulty in forming them. it was only comical. When she left the room Doc Ludlow turned his gaze to Doug. “There’s something rotten in Den- mark’ about this. I don’t get. it at all. Sven Larson isn’t the one to make a dengerous mistake.”. As if to corroborate him the old Norwegian opened his eyes slowly. They watched the fixed glassy look in them change to one of puzzlement. “What happened to me?” he demanded in a faish “No, no stroke.” The answer whisper. “What happened?” was definite. e Milk for Hungry Children A pair of stevedores in New York loads part of a shipment of (To be continued) 3,000,000 pounds of dried milk destined for the hungry children of five war-devastated European countries. The shipment is the first by the International Children’s Emergency Fund, which was organized last fall by the United Nations to provide at least one meal a day for youngsters who have suffered from six years of war. After Lincoln made the Gettys- A photographer who planned burg address, a copy was request- to take a picture of Lincoln while ‘ed by George Bankroft. It is that he was making the Gettysburg handwritten version by the late |address had insufficient time to President that has become known ' get the camera adjusted before ¥ ENTERING Cumberland caves. rived in a “chariot” drawn by six horses, his bodyguard of light | horse galloving at each side while | as the authentic address. the drums beat out the “Grena- | dier’s March.” The chariot was left at Cum- berland when Braddock set out on his unsuccessful attempt to capture the French Fort Du- quesne—-now Pittsburgh. Having failed to take young Washingion’s advice on back- woods ruiilitary methods, Brad- dock was fatally wounded ten miles short of his goal. Night Spot “My husband plays tennis, swims and goes in for physicai exercise. Does your husband take any regular exercise?” “Well, last week he was out nighis running,” seven { Place You REAL ICE {the address was over. a ante - ne eae ena Refr: ceration on @ REAL ICE BASIS and You Will Get GUARANTEED R-frigeration Service | .1 More Economicall It Is PURE Healthy and Safe Thompson Enterprises, Ine. PHONE NO. 8 Ra re rr 2 SES eee DD PT . (ICE DIVISION) | EY WEST. FLA. - — sathcdas