“Have you any intention of calling upon this patient again?” “Not unless I am sent for.” “How will you collect your bill?” “I shall make no charge; I never do, when people appear to be as poor as they were.” The doctor looked magnanimous, and glanced languidly at the spectators, as if for their approval of his professional generosity. “What time did you start, Dr. Bilks?” “About eleven, I think.” “Where did you spend the early part of the evening?” “I visited a patient at eight o’clock--shall I give you the name, and describe the house?” asked the doctor. “It is hardly necessary in this instance,” replied Dick, not at all moved by the witty charge. “You visited a patient at eight o’clock: go on, if you please.” “I returned to my office at nine, and read till eleven. The book was ‘The Lancet’--a medical periodical published monthly, in New York, at two dollars a year. The article in which I was particularly interested was a----” “Never mind the article, doctor,” interrupted the lawyer. “I beg your pardon; I thought you wanted all the particulars.” “I do in regard to the patient you visited beyond the Point. That is the only case of yours in which the court is at all interested. You read ‘The Lancet’?” “I did; and was about to retire at eleven, when the man came for me. I went to the hotel stable for my horse, and started immediately.” “What road did you take?” “The road to the Point.” “Describe your route till you reached the house where you found your patient.” “I drove down the Point Road, by the salt works.” “Go on, if you please.” “I came to the house, and went in.” “Where was the house?” “I cannot describe its locality,” replied Dr. Bilks, the cold sweat standing visibly on his forehead. “Did you go beyond the road leading from the Point Road to the Mills?” “I think I did.” “Did you pass any houses before you came to the one you wished to find?” “Possibly I did; I don’t remember.” “You stopped--did you?” “Of course I did.” “What induced you to stop?” “The expectation of finding the patient to whom I had been called.” “Did you get the right house the first time trying?” “I did.” “That was fortunate! What was the condition of the woman when you saw her?” Dr. Bilks described her condition. “Was she an old woman or a young one?” “About thirty, I should say.” “At what time was the child born?” “About half past one o’clock.” “You were there two hours at least?” “About two hours.” “Was there a nurse?” “There were a couple of women there.” “Was the child a boy or a girl?” “A girl.” “I pray your honor’s judgment,” said the government attorney. “Mr. Birch evidently intends to treat us to a complete view of obstetrical science.” “I have done with the witness, may it please your honor,” interposed Dick. Dr. Bilks stepped down from the stand so weak and exhausted, that his condition excited the attention of the audience, especially of Eugene, though none could imagine what it all meant. CHAPTER XVI.