on strange seas.

"Let me see you do it," demanded the Doctor, in instant sympathy with
his pride in this newly acquired national accomplishment.

"He hasn't got time to do it now," answered Eliza importantly, as she
hitched Teether a notch higher up on her arm. "I've got to take him and
the baby in to Mother Mayberry to see if his other top-tooth have come
up enough for Maw to rub it through with her thimble." Though she did
not designate Teether as the subject of the operation the audience
understood that it was he and not Martin Luther so fated.

"Oh, no, no!" exclaimed Miss Wingate in horror, and she reached out and
took Teether into protective arms. The day had been a long and weary
one for Teether Pike and he dropped his tired little head over on the
cool pink muslin shoulder and nestled his aching jaw against the smooth
white neck.

"Hold him still just a second as he is," said Doctor Tom quickly, and
in an instant he had whipped a case from his pocket, selected an
instrument and, inserting his finger between the pink lips, he rendered
unnecessary the agony of the maternal thimble. It had been done so
quickly that Teether himself only nestled a bit closer with a faint
moan, and Miss Wingate looked up at the operator with grateful eyes.
She hugged the limp baby closer and started to speak, but was
interrupted by an anxious question from Eliza.

"Did you cut it?" she demanded.

"Yes," answered the Doctor non-committally.

"Well, Maw'll be mighty mad at you, for Mother Mayberry asked her last
night to let you cut it and she said she'd thimbled the rest of us and
she reckoned he could stand it too. If it was me, I'd let you cut me
wide open and sew me up again if you wanted to," and Eliza beamed upon
the Doctor with an affection that was the acme of idealization. She had
forgotten that only a few hours ago she had renounced her loyalty at
the memory of the oil, but Miss Wingate smiled in appreciation of this
display of further feminine inconsistency.

"Shucks," said Billy, "you'd holler 'fore he could cut onct. I'm
a-going to let him fix my next stump toe and 'Lias Hoover have got two
warts he can cut off, if he gives him a piece of catgut string to tie
on fish hooks." And Billy looked as if he expected to see the Doctor
entirely overwhelmed at the prospect of so much practice so easily
obtained.

"Go take Martin Luther to show Mrs. Mayberry, Eliza," said Miss Wingate
with a laughing smile over the baby's