The Story of a Doctor's Telephone Part 39

Silence. Then, "Yes, he's got too far to hear. I'm sorry."

"Very well. Thank you."

"Let me see," she meditated, "yes, I think he goes there."

She got the house. "Is Dr. Blank there?"

"He's just coming through the gate."

"Please ask him to come to the 'phone." After a minute his voice asked what was wanted and Mary delivered her message.

When her husband came home that night, she said, "John, there's one more place you're to go and you're to be there at nine o'clock."

"The deuce!" he looked at his watch, "ten minutes to nine now. Where is it?"

"I don't know."

"Don't know?"

"No. I haven't the slightest idea."

"Why didn't you find out," he asked, sharply. Mary arched her brows.

"Suppose _you_ find out."

John rang central. With twinkling eyes his wife listened.

"h.e.l.lo, central. Who was calling Dr. Blank a while ago?"

"A good many people call, Dr. Blank. I really cannot say."

The voice was icily regular, splendidly null. It nettled the doctor.

"Suppose you try to find out."

"People who need a doctor ought to be as much interested as we are. I don't know who it was." And the receiver went up.

"d.a.m.ned impudence!" said the doctor, slamming up his receiver and facing about.

"Wait, John. That girl has had to run down the woman with the sick baby.

She didn't give _her_ name either. Central had lots of trouble in finding her. It's small wonder she rebelled when I came at her the second time. So all I could do was to deliver the message just as it came, 'Tell the doctor to come down to our house and to be here at nine o'clock.'"

"Consultation, I suppose. They'll ring again pretty soon, I dare say, and want to know why I don't hurry up."

But nothing further was heard from the message or the messenger that night or ever after.

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.

Can we move Henry out into the yard? It's so hot inside.

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.

Can we move Jennie into the house? It gets pretty cold along toward morning.

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.

Doctor, you know those pink tablets you left? I forget just how you said to take 'em.

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.

The baby's throwing up like everything.

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.

Johnny's swallowed a nickel!.... You say it won't?.... And not give him anything at all? Well, I needn't have been so scared, then.

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.

The baby pulled the cat's tail and she scratched her in the face. I'm afraid she's put her eye out..... No, the _baby's_ eye. I'm afraid she can't see..... No, she's not crying. She's going to sleep..... Well, I guess she _can't_ see very well with her eyes shut..... Then you won't come down?.... All right, Doctor, you know best.

Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.

"Is this the doctor?"

"Yes."

"The baby has a cold and I rubbed her chest with vaseline and greased her nose. Is that all right?"

"All right."

"And I am going to make her some onion syrup, if I can remember how it's made. How do you make it?"

"Why--O, _you_ remember how to make it."

The truth is the doctor was not profoundly learned in some of the "home remedies" and was more helpless than the little mother herself, which she did not suspect.