“It is the last time,” said Doctor Hillhouse, breaking at length the silence and speaking with unwonted emphasis, “that a drop of wine or brandy shall pass my lips within forty-eight hours of any operation.”

“I am not so sure that you will help as much as hurt by this abstinence,” replied Doctor Kline.  “If you are in the habit of using wine daily, I should say keep to your regular quantity.  Any change will be a disturbance and break the fine nervous tension that is required.  It is easy to account for your condition to-day.  If you had taken only your one or two or three glasses yesterday as the case may be, and kept away from the excitement and—­pardon me excesses of last night—­anything beyond the ordinary rule in these things is an excess, you know—­there would have been no failure of the nerves at a critical juncture.”

“Is not the mind clearer and the nerves steadier when sustained by healthy nutrition than when toned up by stimulants?” asked Doctor Hillhouse.

“If stimulants have never been taken, yes.  But you know that we all use stimulants in one form or another, and to suddenly remove them is to leave the nerves partially unstrung.”

“Which brings us face to face with the question whether or not alcoholic stimulants are hurtful to the delicate and wonderfully complicated machinery of the human body.  I say alcoholic, for we know that all the stimulation we get from wine or beer comes from the presence of alcohol.”

While Doctor Hillhouse was speaking, the office bell rang violently.  As soon as the door was opened a man came in hurriedly and handed him, a slip of paper on which were written these few words: 

“An artery has commenced bleeding.  Come quickly!  Angier”

Doctor Hillhouse started to his feet and gave a quick order for his carriage.  As it drove up to the office-door soon after, he sprang in, accompanied by Doctor Kline.  He had left his case of instruments at the house with Doctor Angier.

Not a word was spoken by either of the two men as they were whirled along over the snow, the wheels of the carriage giving back only a sharp crisping sound, but their faces were very sober.

Mr. Carlton met them, looking greatly alarmed.

“Oh, doctor,” he exclaimed as he caught the hand of Doctor Hillhouse, almost crushing it in his grasp, “I am so glad you are here.  I was afraid she might bleed to death.”

“No danger of that,” replied Doctor Hillhouse, trying to look assured and to speak with confidence.  “It is only the giving way of some small artery which will have to be tied again.”

On reaching his patient, Doctor Hillhouse found that one of the small arteries he had been compelled to sever in his work of cutting the tumor away from the surrounding parts was bleeding freely.  Half a dozen handkerchiefs and napkins had already been saturated with blood; and as it still came freely, nothing was left but to reopen the wound and religate the artery.