ADOPTION BY BLOOD
For a little while Donald lay awake under the eaves in his loft room,
but his sleeplessness was the result neither of worry or nervous
tension. His mind, indeed, was unusually contented. None of the
disturbing thoughts of difficult tasks on the morrow assailed it; he
felt only an unwonted peace and contentment. The impressions left by the
evening's talk still swayed and uplifted his soul. Yet, deep within his
consciousness, there was a vague realization that it would be long, if
ever, before he could hope to pattern his life by the precepts of the
man of God who had so stirred him. Happily, he could not foresee how
soon mortal passions were to repossess him wholly, to blot out the new
spiritual light which was his.
In her little room below, Rose, too, lay awake, her youthful mind
teeming with wonderful, new ideas garnered from the seeds sown by the
"reverend"; but the insistent call of slumber to her tired, healthy body
in time lulled her busy thoughts to rest.
* * * * *
"Oh, Doctor Mac, come _quick_! Grandpappy's hurted."
Sound asleep, and even then visioning the girl whose terrified voice
suddenly wove itself into the figment of his dream, when the first word
fell upon his ears, Donald was wide awake, and he was half out of bed
before the last was spoken.
He paused only long enough to draw on his hunting breeches and thrust
his bare feet into their tramping boots--which left a hiatus of
unstockinged muscular calf--hurriedly dropped down the ladder, and in
two strides was out of doors.
Near the wood pile stood the old mountaineer, on his countenance
expression of mingled pain and chagrin, the latter dominating. His right
hand still grasped the keen-edged axe, while Rose stood beside him,
clasping his brawny left forearm with both of her small but sinewy
hands.
As Donald approached them on the run he noticed that the girl had
sacrificed her treasured hair ribbon to make a tourniquet halfway up the
old man's arm, and that blood was running down his hand and falling from
the finger tips with slow, rhythmical continuity.
"Hit haint nothin' et all, Smiles," Big Jerry was rumbling forth. "Hit
air jest er scratch. I don't know how I come fer ter do hit an' I reckon
I ought ter be plumb ershamed. Why, Smiles, I been erchoppin' wood fer
nigh onter fifty year, an' I haint never chopped myself erfore. Hit war
thet tarnation knot. But hit haint nothin', this hyar haint."
"Come over to the well where we can give it a wash," was Donald's curt
command, and Big Jerry followed him obediently, while the girl hastened
ahead and drew up a bucket full of pure, sparkling, ice-cold spring
water. The doctor tipped it unceremoniously over the giant's arm, and,
as the already coagulating blood on the surface was washed away, made a
hasty examination of the slanting, ugly gash beneath.
"Superficial wound. No artery or major muscle severed," he announced, as
though addressing a class. "Still, you were right in taking the
precaution of applying that tourniquet, Rose. I suppose it was bleeding
pretty merrily at first."
"Hit war spoutin' powerful," she answered, in her stress of excitement
lapsing into the language of childhood.
"Yes, I suppose so. That is in a way a good thing in such cases,
however. It automatically cleanses the wound of any infectious matter.
Look, Rose," he added, as though explaining to a clinic, "see how the
blood is thickening up into a clot? That is chiefly the work of what we
call 'white corpuscles'--infinitely tiny little organisms whose sole
purpose in life is to eat up disease germs which may get into the veins,
and to hurry to the surface when there is a cut, cluster together and
die, their bodies forming a wall against the wicked enemies who are
always anxious to get inside the blood for the purpose of making
trouble."
"I told ye 'twarnt nothin'," said Big Jerry, not without a note of
relief in his voice, however. "A leetle blood-lettin' won't do me no
hurt. I'll jest wind a rag eround hit, an' ..."
"Not so fast," laughed Donald. "In all probability 'a rag just wound
round it' would do the business, for your blood is apparently in
first-class condition, with its full share of the red corpuscles; but
you might just as well have the benefit of the hospital corps since we
are on the ground. The red corpuscles," he added, addressing Smiles,
"are the other good little chaps who continually go hurrying through the
body, feeding it with oxygen and making it strong. Run into the house
and get my 'first aid' kit, from my knapsack, child. You'll remember it
when you see it, for I had to dig it out the very first time that I saw
you."
The girl hurried cabinwards, fleet as the wind, and, as the two men sat
down on a woodpile to wait for her, Donald had an opportunity to take
note of his ludicrously inadequate costume.
It seemed little more than a minute before Rose returned with his kit,
but it was not brought by a mountain maid. In that almost incredibly
short time the child had changed her gingham dress for the immaculate
costume of a trained nurse, and the transformation in apparel had been
accompanied by one in mien no less noticeable. Dainty and fair as a
white wild rose she was, yet seriously businesslike in expression.
Donald was startled for a moment. It came to his mind that he was
looking upon a vision of the years to come, and the picture caused his
heart to beat a little faster; but, although the light of appreciation
shone in his eyes, his only comment was, "Are your hands as clean as
that dress?"
"Yes, doctor."
"Now how the deuce did she come to use that stereotyped response?" he
wondered; then said, aloud, "Then undo that roll of gauze bandage and
tear off a piece about six feet long ... be careful! Don't let it touch
the ground."
Then he immediately gave his attention to Big Jerry, and smiled with
professional callousness as he caught the giant's wince when the
antiseptic fluid which he poured on the wound started it smarting.
"Now for your first lesson in the scientific application of a bandage,
Smiles," he said.
Very carefully she followed his directions, and at length the split end
was tied with professional neatness. But, as his fingers tested the
knot, the girl seized one of his hands and exclaimed, with solicitude,
"Why, you're hurt, too, Doctor Mac!"
She indicated on one of his fingers a small jagged tear from which the
blood was slowly oozing.
"How the dickens did I do that?" he demanded in surprise.
"Sliding down the ladder from the loft-room, I reckon. See, there's a
piece of splinter in it still."
"Right-o, Miss Detective." He turned to the old man and remarked, "It
looks as though your blood and mine had been mixing, this morning. Why
not complete the ceremony and make it an adoption by blood; the way they
used to do in some of the Indian tribes, you know?" he added, half
jestingly, and acting on a sudden impulse. "You can take me into the
clan as ... well, as your foster-son."
"Thar haint no clan nowadays, I reckon, but ef yo' wants fer ter be my
foster-son I'd shor' be pleased fer ter hev ye es such, lad."
"Great. I feel like 'one of the family' already, and if you _will_ adopt
me as a new son--with all the privileges and obligations of one--I'll
appreciate it, no joking."
As a pledge of their compact the city and mountain man clasped hands
solemnly, while Rose stood by, delightedly smiling her benediction upon
their act. "Why," she cried, "that makes me your little foster sister,
Doctor Mac. Oh, I'm so glad!"
"Yes, so it does." Donald answered with a cheery voice, but no sooner
were the words spoken than a sense of rebellion took possession of him.
"Idiot!" he muttered, shaking off the feeling with an effort of his
will.
"But haint ... aren't you going to do up your hurt finger, too?" she
queried anxiously.
The man seized the broken sliver with his fingers and jerked it out,
examined the tiny incision and then thrust the wounded member into his
mouth. "Don't ever tell any of my patients that you saw me do this," he
laughed, with a return to good humor, "but that is my way of treating a
minor injury ... then I forget it. It's a fearful secret," he added,
lowering his voice, "but nature, aided by sun and air, are wonderful
healers, and just ordinary saliva, if a person is healthy, is both
cleansing and healing."
"Thet air the way anumals cures thar hurts," remarked Jerry.
"Yes, it is nature's way, and if the blood is pure, and the cut not so
deep as to make infection likely, there isn't a much better one, after
all. However, Miss Nurse, you may practice your art on my finger, too,
if you want."
He held his hand out, and, flushing with childish happiness, Rose bound
up the little scratch painstakingly, answering Donald's brief word of
commendation with a flashing smile. Indeed, experience with many nurses
of many grades of ability made him aware that her untrained fingers held
an unusual degree of natural knack which augured well for the future.
During a simple breakfast, leisurely eaten, the trio talked over in
detail the varied happenings of the year that had passed, and Donald was
as astonished as he was pleased to discover what diligent application
the girl had exercised in her studying, and what results she had
attained, despite the manifold handicaps under which she had labored.
Her ministerial friend and mentor had truly guided her feet far along
the lower levels of learning. Yet the old and well-remembered childish
charm had been in no wise lessened, and the unaffected simplicity with
which she dropped into the mountain tongue, when speaking to her
grandfather, caused Donald to glow with sympathetic appreciation.
As they finished eating, Big Jerry remarked, "Hit air a powerful fine
mornin' fer ter spend huntin', my boy. I reckon yo'll wish ter git inter
the woods right smart, an' ef yo' desires ter make a day uv hit,
Smiles'll fix ye up er leetle lunch ter take erlong."
"Oh, I'm not exactly sure what I shall do," answered Donald, with slight
hesitation. "Perhaps what I need most, to start with, is just plain
rest, and I rather guess I'll laze around this morning, and maybe go
down to Fayville to get my grip this afternoon."
"Wall, thet air a good idee. Jest make yo'rself ter home. I've got a
leetle bizness ter attend to up the mountain a piece, an' I allows yo'
kin git erlong 'thout me fer a while." He departed, disappearing with
surprising rapidity, and left the man and girl together.
Donald sank onto the doorstep, leaned against the side post, and sucked
away at his pipe with lazy contentment, alternately watching Rose as she
flew busily about her simple household duties, and sending his gaze out
over the broad stretch of peaceful mountainside, which lay dozing in the
warm morning sun.