g me and--"

"But, my dear young lady, I'm not the man you want. You ought to go to
some--"

"You'll do just as well as any one, I'm sure. It's no trick to take out an
appendix in these days. The fewer a doctor has snipped off, the less he
charges, don't you know. So why shouldn't I, being quite poor, take
advantage of your ignorance? The most intelligent surgeon in New York
couldn't do any more than to snip it off, now could he? And he wouldn't be
one-tenth as ignorant as you are about prices."

She was so gay and naive about it that he curbed his amazement, and, to
some extent, his embarrassment.

"I suppose that it is also ignorance on my part that supplies me with
office hours in a public restaurant from one to three o'clock," he said,
with a very unprofessional grin.

"What hospital do you work in?" she demanded, in a business-like tone.

Humouring her, he mentioned one of the big hospitals in which he had
served as an interne.

"That suits me," she said. "Can you do it to-morrow?"

"For heaven's sake, madam, I--are you in earnest?"

"Absolutely. I want to have it done right away. You see, I do a good deal
of dancing, and--now, listen!" She leaned farther across the table, a
serious little line appearing between her brows. "I want you to do it
because I've always heard that you are one of the most earnest, capable
and ambitious young men in the business. I'd sooner trust you than any one
else, Dr. Thorpe. It has to be done by some one, so if I'm willing to take
a chance with you, why shouldn't you take one with me?"

"I have been in Europe for nearly three years. How could you possibly have
heard all this about me?"

"See that fellow over there facing us? The funny little chap with the baby
moustache? He--"

"Why, it's Simmy Dodge," cried Braden. "Are--are you--"

"Just a friend, that's all. He's one of the finest chaps in New York. He's
a gentleman. That's Mr. and Mrs. Rumsey Fenn,--the other two, I mean. You
can't see them for the florist shop in between. They know you too, so--"

"May I inquire why one of my friends did not bring you over and introduce
me to you, Miss--er--"

"Miss, in a sort of way, Doctor, but still a Missus," she said amiably.
"Well, I told them that I knew you quite well and I wouldn't let them come
over. It's all right, though. We'll be partially related to each other by
marriage before long, I understand; so it's all right. You see, I am Mrs.
George Dexter Tresslyn."

"