at the coffee urn, had done so silently, and looked, so James thought,
rather sulky, as if something had gone wrong. Directly James was in the
office, the doctor's man, Aaron, appeared. He was a tall, lank
Jerseyman, incessantly chewing. His lean, yellow jaws appeared to have
acquired a permanent rotary motion, but he had keen eyes of intelligence
upon the doctor as he gave his orders.

"Put in the team," said Gordon. "We are going to Haver's Corner. Old Sam
Edwards is pretty low, and I ought to have gone there yesterday, but I
didn't know whether that child with diphtheria at Tucker's Mill would
live the day out. Now he has seen the worst of it, thank the Lord! But
to-day I must go to Haver's. I want to make good time, for there's
something going on this afternoon, and I want an hour off if I can get
it." Again the expression of simple jocularity was over the man's face,
and James remembered what he had said the night before about again
running a race with himself the next day.

After Aaron had gone out Gordon turned to James. He pointed to his great
medicine-case on the table. "You might see to it that the bottles are
all filled," he said. "You will find the medicines yonder." He pointed
to the shelf. "I have to speak to Clemency before I go."

James obeyed. As he worked filling the bottles he heard dimly Gordon's
voice talking to Clemency on the other side of the wall. The girl seemed
to be expostulating.

When Doctor Gordon returned Aaron was at his heels with an immense
bottle containing a small quantity of red fluid. "S'pose you'll want
this filled?" he said to Gordon with a grin which only disturbed for a
second his rotary jaws.