his mill and ran up
the track to see if any of the orphans had been run over.

The real cause of the uproar was soon proclaimed from Long's upstairs,
and with it went ringing over the countryside the fame of the new
doctor.

Gilbert awoke one morning to find himself the most important man in the
township of Oro, and the busiest. Patients came from all directions,
and Speed, his trim little mare, went flying over the hills and dales
as though she, too, were heartily glad that work had begun. Lauchie
McKitterick advertised him at every station along the line, and when
the doctor wanted to go anywhere on the train Davy Munn needed only to
brandish his mother's sunbonnet from the window of the stable loft, and
the Lakeview and Simcoe express stopped just below his back gate. He
was soon so busy that Granny Long had to give up her afternoon nap to
keep track of his swift movements. There was always something doing in
the village, too. There was often an accident in the mill, and there
was always an accident at Jake Sawyer's. The eldest orphan fell into
the mill-pond, and was nearly drowned; the twins took a dose of Paris
green just to see if it really would turn their hair into grass; and
Joey ate all the early green apples off a Duchess tree. Then there was
Granny Long's neuralgia and Uncle Hughie Cameron's rheumatism; and Mrs.
Winters declared she believed folks got sick on purpose, for the sake
of calling the doctor in.

There was some shadow of truth in this, for as the young man came and
went among the people's homes their admiration for his skill was soon
mingled with a warmer feeling. He had such a "takin' way" with him,
old Granny Long declared, that a body just couldn't help being glad to
see him; and old Mrs. McKitterick said the sight of his face was like a
dose of medicine, a compliment the young doctor accepted gratefully in
its true meaning. Even Mrs. Winters, and all the other famous nurses
of the district, who, over an afternoon cup of tea, would give him full
instructions upon how to treat this case and that, agreed that the
doctor was generally right. And then, though he always had his own way
in the end, he took their advice with such good humor, and never
scoffed, the way old Dr. Williams did. He would walk into the house
and order things in a way that commanded the admiration of even the
Duke of Wellington. He scolded the mothers roundly whenever he was
called to see a sick baby. He deno