I wish to acknowledge, most gratefully, the valuable assistance rendered to me, in the preparation of the chapters dealing with the medical and hospital incidents, by Robert W. Guiler, M.D.; by Alonzo J. Shadman, M.D., to whom I am indebted for my description of the unusual operation in Chapter XXI; and by Miss Elizabeth E. Sullivan, Superintendent of Nurses at the Boston Children's Hospital. And, above all, I desire to make acknowledgment of the debt of gratitude that I owe to Mr. Henry Wightman Packer for his helpful criticism throughout the writing of this story. ELIOT HARLOW ROBINSON. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. DONALD MACDONALD, M.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 II. ENTER BIG JERRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 III. AN INNOCENT SERPENT IN EDEN . . . . . . . . . . . 25 IV. "SMILES" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 V. GIVING AND RECEIVING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 VI. AN UNACCEPTED CHALLENGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 VII. "SMILES'" GIFT AND THE "WRITING" . . . . . . . . . 66 VIII. SOME OF SEVERAL EPISTLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 IX. THE HIGH HILLS, AND "GOD'S MAN" . . . . . . . . . 91 X. "SMILES'" CONSECRATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 XI. ADOPTION BY BLOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 XII. THE THREE OF HEARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 XIII. GATHERING CLOUDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 XIV. SOWING THE WIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 XV. REAPING THE WHIRLWIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 XVI. THE AFTERMATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 XVII. THE PARTING PLEDGE AND PASSING DAYS . . . . . . . 171 XVIII. THE ADDED BURDEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 XIX. "SMILES'" APPEAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 XX. THE ANSWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 XXI. A MODERN MIRACLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 XXII. VICARIOUS ATONEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 XXIII. TWO LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 XXIV. NEW SCENES, NEW FRIENDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 XXV. THE FIRST MILESTONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 XXVI. THE CALL OF THE RED CROSS . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 XXVII. THE GOAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 XXVIII. "BUT A ROSE HAS THORNS" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 XXIX. AN INTERLUDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309 XXX. DONALD'S HOMECOMING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 XXXI. THE VALLEY OF INDECISION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 XXXII. THE STORM AND THE SACRIFICE . . . . . . . . . . . 341 XXXIII. WHAT THE CRICKET HEARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 XXXIV. A LOST BROTHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361