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THE DOCTOR
By Lulietfe Bryant
«|T'S five o'clock/' said the girl,
I disappointedly, "and he said four. Do you suppose Doctor Gray ever gets anywhere on time?"
The question, being addressed to a white Persian kitten, dozing on a rug before the fire, received no reply except a sleepy nod. The questioner rose and moved restlessly about, re-arranging the dainty china, which stood ready for tea, now peeping into the brass kettle, bubbling over an alcohol flame, now straightening a book or a vase here and there, until she paused before a window looking upon the street.
Outside a March wind was howling. At intervals a flurry of snowflakes danced thru the air, as if to remind the unwary that spring had not come to stay, in spite of the calendar. The passerby hurried along as if anxious to seek shelter, men turning their collars high, women drawing their furs more closely, children running, redcheeked and breathless, in the sharp wind.
An electric runabout came suddenly into view, and the girl's face brightened. "He's coming, kitten," she exclaimed, running back to the fire and catching up the white ball of fur. "He's dreadfully late, and we're going to scold him, but he's here."
So Doctor Gray found her, a moment later, standing in the warm firelight, slim and graceful, in her trailing red gown, the kitten nestled close against her neck, contrasting sharply with the braids of dark hair. He stood, for a moment, studying the picture. The girl's beauty was fresh, vivacious. Her constantly changing expression, her unaffected, rather im way.
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perious manner, betokened a lack of the formal discipline which leads to self-control. But there was strength, as well as sweetness, in the young face ; truth looked fearlessly out from the dark eyes, which fell before the doctor's earnest gaze.
"Your friends need hardly wait until you die," she remarked, pointedly, "before referring to you as 'the late Doctor Gray.' "
"I'm sorry," he returned, "but what can a poor doctor man do, when these sudden changes of March send half his patients into grippe or pneumonia?"
"Don't talk about sickness," she said, half impatiently, "I hate to think of it. But it is lovely to be able to make people well and happy again," she added, hastily, noticing a troubled look creeping over his face.
"Alice," he said, suddenly, "I had hoped for a long talk with you this afternoon. Now I am late and must try to say it all in a few words. You must know that I love you. Can you give yourself to me, dear? I am older than you, my profession is exacting, I fear that I shall always keep you waiting as I have tonight. Do you think you could be happy?"
Alice looked at her lover sweetly, earnestly, over the kitten's fluffy hair. Suddenly, with one of her swift transitions, her eyes lit with laughter.
"I've done nothing else but wait for you for the last year," she murmured, shyly.
The kitten gave an indignant yowl, and dropped to the floor. It was well that it did. The kitten was in the