He said that he wants to die with his
boots on."
"You tried his pulse and his temperature?" whispered the doctor.
"Yes. The temperature is not much above normal, the pulse is extremely
rapid and very faint. Is that a bad sign?"
"Very bad."
Drew winced and caught his breath so sharply that the others stared at
him. It might have been thought that he had just heard his own death
sentence pronounced.
He explained: "Ben has been with me a number of years. It breaks me up
to think of losing him like this."
The doctor took the pulse of Calamity with lightly touching fingers that
did not waken the sleeper; then he felt with equal caution the forehead
of Ben.
"Well?" asked Drew eagerly.
"The chances are about one out of ten."
It drew a groan from the rancher.
"But there is still some hope."
The doctor shook his head and carefully unwound the bandages. He
examined the wound with care, and then made a dressing, and recovered
the little purple spot, so small that a five-cent piece would have
covered it.
"Tell me!" demanded Drew, as Young turned at length.
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