“Come in, boy! come in,” said the doctor, pitying the poor fellow, whose teeth were chattering at such a rate it was doubtful whether he could have spoken if he wished. He obeyed the invitation with alacrity, however, and made directly for the radiator, toward which Dr. Turner pointed, telling him to “go and warm himself.” The physician then stepped beneath the hall light to examine the card he had received. It proved to be the business card of a first-class, though small, hotel in the city, and on the blank side of it there had been hastily written these words: “Come at once to the —— House. An urgent case demands your immediate attention. A. PAYSON, Clerk.” Dr. Turner frowned, and hung his head in thought for a moment. He had had a hard day; he was very weary, and would have hesitated about answering a strange call even in mild weather, and the temptation to send the boy and his card to some one else, and remain in the genial warmth of his own home, was very strong. Still, the man was conscientious. The summons was urgent, and it might be a case of life and death. Perhaps the delay of sending to some other physician might result in the loss of a human life. This thought decided him. He turned quickly on his heel and passed down the hall to his office, remarking to the waiting messenger as he went: “Wait here. I will be ready to return with you in a few moments.” He looked into his medicine case to see that he had everything that he wished, wrapped himself in a long ulster with an ample cape, drew a fur cap down over his ears, and a pair of seal-skin gloves upon his hands, and then went forth with his youthful guide to face the penetrating air of this bitterly cold night. When he reached the —— House, he was conducted directly to a handsome suite of rooms in the third story, and ushered into the presence of a magnificently beautiful woman, who was reclining upon a luxurious couch. Dr. Turner had never seen a lovelier woman. She was, apparently, about twenty-one or twenty-two years of age. Her hair was very dark, almost black; her eyes were also very dark, with straight, beautiful brows. She was deathly pale—the pillow on which she lay was scarcely whiter—but her complexion was faultless, her skin as fine and smooth as an infant’s, while her features were remarkable for their delicacy and loveliness. Beside her, in a low rocker, and holding one fair white hand in both her own, there sat another woman, some two or three years older, but scarcely less beautiful, although of a different type, and looking anxious and distressed. A few direct inquiries enabled the physician to comprehend the nature of the case, after which he rapidly wrote a few lines upon a card, and, ringing for a servant, dispatched it to the clerk below.