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Page 19
At six o'clock we prepared our own breakfast, and enjoyed it, sweetened
as it was by a night in the pure country air, and seasoned with the
anticipation of marvellous discoveries, involving the mysteries of a
strange land, no doubt teeming with amazing surprises, and, as we felt
that we had reason to believe, peopled by a race of beings with customs
and attributes extremely wonderful.
We had just arisen from our breakfast when a buggy drove rapidly up to
the house, and stopped; and we heard the voice of Doctor Castleton,
shouting something to the old miner, who had gone forth a moment before
to care for Bainbridge's horse.
The SEVENTH Chapter
Doctor Castleton entered the sick-room with his usual impetuosity,
saluting us jointly in an off-hand but courteous manner as he crossed
the floor to the bedside of Peters, and took one of the invalid's wrists
in his hand.
"Ah," he said; "better! The quinine of yesterday has done its work; the
bed-time dose of calomel has gone through the liver and stirred up that
enemy of human health and happiness, the bile; and the morning dose of
salts will, beyond a peradventure, soon be heard from. Now we will throw
the whiskey toddy into him, and plenty of it, too; and--yes, we'll go on
with the quinine, repeat the calomel to-night, and have him ready for
something else by to-morrow."
Now I never like to mention doubtful incidents in such a manner as to
suggest my own belief in them; but I then suspected, and I am now
morally certain, that Doctor Bainbridge had, in assuming the care of
Peters, failed to execute medical orders, and had administered only
remedies or pretended remedies of his own, so as to prevent Peters,
myself, and the attending physician from detecting any omissions. This,
I am aware, is a terrible charge to make--still, I make it: Peters did
not get a fourth, if any, of the medicines left for him by Doctor
Castleton during the time that Bainbridge cared for the old man.
But if Bainbridge had, with the intention of prolonging the life of
Peters, and with greater confidence in his own professional judgment
than in that of Castleton, omitted the remedies prescribed, it was soon
apparent that the deception might prove in vain. I have already
intimated that the older physician's perceptions and intuitions were so
quick as sometimes to appear almost uncanny; and after asking a question
or two, he began to pour upon a square of white paper, from a small vial
which he took from one of his vest pockets, a very heavy white powder;
and we soon perceived that the powder was to be poured from the paper to
the invalid's tongue. Bainbridge was interested in Peters--not only
selfishly and with a motive to learn the facts of the old sailor's
strange voyage; but he was also interested in the poor old wreck for the
sake of the man himself. I saw that in the opinion of Bainbridge, if
that white powder were administered to the invalid it would injure
him--probably weaken him, and cause a relapse, and perhaps even an
earlier death than otherwise might occur; and I saw that Bainbridge was
really apprehensive and annoyed. At last he suggested to Castleton to
delay the administration of the intended remedy, if only for a few
hours. And when Castleton called attention to his own view of the
necessity for quick action, involving the instant administration of the
dose, it would obviously have been so unwise to contradict him, that
Bainbridge did not risk such a course. But, over-anxious to gain his
point, he did something still more impolitic. He suggested a remedy of
his own by which, he said, Peters would speedily be relieved--a new
drug, I believe, or at least a remedy not known to Castleton. For a
moment I looked for an explosion of offended dignity; but Castleton
controlled his first impulse, and, not looking at Bainbridge, he centred
his apparent attention wholly upon myself, and with exceedingly grave
vigor, said,
"I, sir, am a member of the Clare County Medical Society--I was once
President of that learned body, and have since then for seven
consecutive years been its Secretary--my penmanship being illegible to
the other members, and often to myself, preventing many disagreements,
by precluding a successful reference to the minutes of past meetings.
Now, sir, tell me, as man to man, can I consult with, or listen to
suggestions--even to suggestions, though worthy of a gigantic
intellect--can I listen to suggestions coming from the mentality of a
non-member of our learned body? Before replying, let me say that our
society is known throughout all of Egypt--that is, you know, Egypt,
Illinois. When a medical savant in Paris, or Leipsig, or London, alleges
a discovery, we determine the questions of its originality and its
value--the chief purpose of our meeting, however, being to present our
own discoveries. Now, sir, I appeal to you whether our rules should or
should not be strictly obeyed--and the second clause of section three of
those rules and regulations--an ethical necessity, and found in the
ethical codes of all well-regulated medical societies the world
over--says that a member shall not meet in consultation a non-member,
even to save a human life--a decidedly remote possibility."
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