“He’s out of danger, by the way,” said Mrs. Clyde, “and will be back at
his desk in a fortnight.”
“Well; he’ll have an easier job henceforth,” prophesied Mr. Clyde.
“He’s got an enlightened city to watch over. And he can thank you for
that, Strong.”
“He can thank the Clyde family,” said Dr. Strong with feeling. “I could
have done little without you back of me.”
“It’s been interesting to extend the principles of our Household
Protective Association to the larger world,” smiled Clyde. “Beyond our
own city, too, in one case. Manny has had a letter from the Professor
of Hygiene at Hamilton College, where he enters next year, thanking him
on behalf of the faculty for his warning about young Hyland who was
exposed to diphtheria at the Ellery party. He went back to Hamilton a
few days after and was starting in to play basketball, which would have
been decidedly dangerous for his team mates; but the authorities, after
getting Manny’s letter, kept him out of the gymnasium, and kept a watch
on him. He developed the disease a week later; but there has been no
infection from him.”
“There’s direct result,” approved Dr. Strong. “That’s what I call
spreading the gospel.”
“Grandma’s our real revivalist, at that,” said Julia. “The children at
Number Three pay more attention to her column than they do to what the
teachers tell them. The principal told us that it was the greatest
educational force for health that Worthington had ever known.”
“Only reflected wisdom from you, young man,” said Grandma Sharpless to
the Health Master. “Thank goodness, I’m through with it. I’m so sick of
it that I can’t look at writing materials without wanting to cut the
ink bottle’s throat with my penholder. Bart Snyder has let me off.
What’s more, he sent me a check for $250. Pretty handsome of him. But
I’m going to send it back.”
“Why waste good money, grandma?” drawled Mr. Clyde.
“You wouldn’t have me keep it, would you, for doing that work?”
“Who said anything about keeping it? But don’t feed it back to Bart
Snyder. Why not contribute it to the Public Health League? It’s always
got a handsome deficit.”
“In graceful recognition of my having a son-inlaw as president of it, I
suppose.”
“I’m not president any more. My term was up last night. They didn’t
honor me with a reelection,” said Mr. Clyde, with a rather too obvious
glumness, which, for once, escaped the sharp old lady.
“The slinkums!” she cried. “After all the time and work you’ve given to
it!”
“Well,” said the ex-incumbent philosophically, “there’s one comfort.
They’ve put a better man in my place.”
“No such a thing,” declared his mother-in-law, with vehement
partisanship. “They couldn’t find one. Who was it?”
“Give you one guess.”
“Was it you, young man?” queried she, fixing the Health Master with a
baleful eye.
“Oh, no; a better man than I,” he hastened to assure her.
“Well, in the name of sakes, who, then?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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