x."

"Smallpox!" said Jane, then added aggressively, "Well, now we shall see
whose theory is right, for, as you saw, I was nursing her, and I have
never been vaccinated in my life. My father would not allow it, and I
have been told that it won him his first election."

Ernest Merchison heard, and for a moment his face became like that of a
man in a fit.

"The wicked----" he began, and stopped himself by biting his lips till
the blood came. Recovering his calm with an effort, he turned to Jane
and said in a hoarse voice:--

"There is still a chance; it may be in time; yes, I am almost sure that
I can save you." Then he plunged his hand into his breast pocket and
drew out a little case of instruments. "Be so good as to bare your left
arm," he said; "fortunately, I have the stuff with me."

"What for?" she asked.

"To be vaccinated."

"Are you mad, Ernest?" she said. "You know who I am and how I have been
brought up; how, then, can you suppose that I would allow you to put
that poison into my veins?"

"Look here, Jane, there isn't much time for argument, but just listen to
me for one minute. You know I am a pretty good doctor, don't you? for I
have that reputation, haven't I? and I am sure that you believe in me.
Well, now, just on this one point and for this one occasion I am going
to ask you to give up your own opinion and to suppose that in this
matter I am right and your father is wrong. I will go farther, and
say that if any harm comes to you from this vaccination beyond the
inconvenience of a swollen arm, you may consider all that has been
between us as nothing and never speak to me again."

"That's not the point," she answered. "If you vaccinated me and my arm
fell off in consequence I shouldn't care for you a bit the less, because
I should know that you were the victim of a foolish superstition, and
believed what you were doing to be right. No, Ernest, it is of no use; I
can assure you that I know a great deal more about this subject than you
do. I have read all the papers and statistics and heard the cleverest
men in England lecture upon it, and nothing, nothing, _nothing_ will
ever induce me to submit to that filthy, that revolting operation."

He heard and groaned, then he tried another argument.

"Listen," he said: "you have been good enough to tell me--several
times--well, that you loved me, and, forgive me for alluding to it, but
I think that once you were so foolish as to say that you cared for