Two more men came together. One was brutal, the other merely cold. They
shook their heads and went away. A few days later, a man of the rare
sort came; a gentle, kindly, sympathetic soul, who seemed human and
real.
After the examination was finished, Allison asked, briefly: "Any
chance?"
The kindly man hesitated for an instant, then told the truth. "I'm
afraid not."
The nurse happened to be out of the room, none the less, Allison
motioned to him to come closer. Almost in a whisper he said: "Can you
give me anything that will make me strong enough to write half a dozen
lines?"
"Could no one else write it for you?"
"No one."
"Couldn't I take the message?"
"Could anyone take a message for me to the girl I was going to marry--
now?"
"I understand," said the other, gently. "We'll see. You must make it
very brief."
When the nurse came back, they gave him a pencil, propped a book up
before him, and fastened a sheet of paper to it by a rubber band. After
the powerful stimulant the doctor administered had begun to take effect,
Allison managed to write, in a very shaky, almost illegible hand:
"MY DEAREST:
"My left hand will have to come off.
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