So singular an effect did Mrs. Bransford’s letter have upon Mr. George Aughinbaugh that he went red and white by turns, and became incoherent in excited endeavor to say a number of different things at one and the same time; so that Mr. John Wesley Pringle was moved to break off in his reading, to push Mr. Aughinbaugh into a chair, and to administer first aid to the distracted from a leather-covered bottle. “Take a sip o’ this. One swallow will make you simmer,” he said earnestly. “Old Doctor Pringle’s Priceless Prescription, a sovereign remedy for rattlesnake bites, burns, boils, sprains and bruises, fits, freckles and housemaid’s sore knee; excellent for chilblains, sunburn, congestion of the currency, inflammation of the ego, corns, verbosity, insomnia, sleeplessness, lying awake and bad dreams, punctuality, fracture of the Decalogue, forgetfulness, painful memory, congenital pip, the pangs of requited affection, mange, vivacity, rush of words to the head, old age and lockjaw. “I know that Jeff is in one big difficulty, and I see that you understand what his letter means, which is more than I do. Speak up! Say, state and declare what lies heavy on your mind. Tell us about it. If you can’t talk make signs.” Neither this speech nor the restorative served wholly to dispel Aughinbaugh’s bewilderment. He looked at Mr. Pringle in foggy confusion, holding fast to the panacea, as if that were the one point on which he was quite clear. Seeing which, Mr. Pringle, somewhat exasperated, renewed his eulogy with increased energy and eloquence. “It is also much used in cases of total depravity, contributory negligence, propinquities, clergyman’s sore throat, equilateral strangulation and collar galls, veracity, pessimism, Scylla and Charybdis, stuttering, processions of equine oxen and similar phenomena, insubordination, altitude, consanguinity, chalcedony, irritation of the Ephemeridæ, symmetry, vocalization, mammalia, clairvoyance, inertia, acrimony, persecution, paresis, paraphernalia, perspective, perspiration, tyranny, architecture and entire absence of mind--take another dose!” He cast an appealing glance around. “I can’t get at what Jeff’s trying to say,” declared Mr. Pringle with some asperity, “but if I could, I’m damned if I couldn’t tell it! Speak up! Play it out on the typewriter.” Acting upon this hint, Aughinbaugh turned to the typewriter and clattered furiously on the keys. He took off two sheets and spread them on the table, face to face, so that one sheet covered all of the other but the first two lines. “There!” he said, pointing. Beebe read aloud: “‘_Now is the time for all good men and true to come to the aid of the party._ _A quick move by the enemy will jeopardize six fine gunboats._’”