They were new patience to me,all I had was the name,Olson.Please come down as soon as you can,my daughter is very sick.

Where I arrived I was met by the mother,a big startled looking woman,very clean and apologetic who merely said.Is this the doctor?And let me in .In the back,she added.You must excuse us,doctor,we have her in the kitchen where it is warm.It is very damp here sometimes.

The child was fully dressed and sitting on her father's lap near the kitchen table,He tried to get up,but I motioned for him not to bother,took off my overcoat and started to look things overk,I could see that they were all very nervous,eyeing me up and down distrust fully.At often,in such cases,they weren't telling me more than they had to,it was up to me to tell them;that's why they were spending three dollars on me.

The child was fairly eating me up with her cold, steady eyes,and no expresion on her face whatever.She did not move and seemed,inwardly,quiet;an unusually attractive little thing,and as strong as a heifer in appearance.But her face was flushed,she was breathing rapidly,and I realized that she had a high fever,She had magnificent blonde hair,in profusion,One of those picture children often reproduced in advertising leaflets and the photogravure section of the sunday papers.

She's had a fever for three days,began the father and we don't know what it comes from.My wife has given her things,you know like people do,but it don't do      no good,And there's been a lot of sickness around,So we tho's you 'd better look her over and tell us what is the matter.

As doctors offten do i took a treial shot at it as a point of departure.Has she had a sore throat?

Both parents answered me together,No...No,she says her throat don't hurt her.

Does your throat hurt you?Added the mother to the child.But the little girl's expression didn't change nor did she move her eye from my face.

Have you looked?

I tried to,said the mother,but i couldn't see.

As it happens we had been having a number of cases of diphtheria in the school to which this child went during that month and w wer all,quite apparently,thingling of that,though no one had as yet spoken of the thing.

Well, I said,suppose we take a tool at the throat first .I smiled in my best professional manner and asking for the child's first name I said ,come on .Mathilda,open your mouth and let's take a look at your throat.

Nothing doing.

AW,come on ,I coaxed,just open your mouth wide and let me take a look,Look,I said open up and let me see.

Such a nie man,put in the mother,Look how kind he is to you .Come on ,do what he tells you to.hHe won't hurt you.

At that i ground my teeth in disgust,If only they wouldn't use the word "hurt"I might be able to ger some where,But I did not allow myself to be hurried or ditrubed but speaking quietly and slowly I approached the child again.

As i moved my chair a lttle ,nearer suddenly with one catlike movement both her hands clawed     instincticely for my eyes and she almost reached them too.In fact she knocked my glassed flying and they fell,though unbroken,several feet away from me on the kitchen floor.

Both the mother and father almost turned themselves inside out in embarrassment and apology,You had girl,said the mother,taking her and shaking her by one arm.Look what you've done.The nice man,,,

For heaven's sake,I broke in.Don't call me a nice man to her,I'm here to look at her trroat on the chance that she might have diphtheria and possibly die of it,But that's nothing to her.Look here,I said to the child,we're going to look at your throat,Your're old enough to understand what i'm saying ,we're going to look at your throat.You're old enough to understand what I'm saying.Will you open it now by      yourself or shall we have to open it for you?

Not a move,Even her expression hadn't changed,Her breaths,however,were coming faster and faster.Then the battle began.I had to do it,I had to have a trroat culture for her own protection .But first i told the parent s that it was entirely up to them,I explained the danger but said that i would not insist on a throat examination so long as they would take the responsibility.

If   you don't do what the doctor says you'll hace to go to the hospital.the mother aomonished her severely.

Oh yeah?I had to smile to myself,After all,I had already fallenin love with the savage brat .the parents were contemptible to me,In the ensuing struggle they grew more and more abject,crushed,exhausted while she surely rose to magnificent heights of insane fury of effort bred of her terror of me

The father tried his best ,and he was a big man but the fact that she was his daughter,his shame at her behavior and his dread of huring her made him release her just at the critical times when I had almost achieved success,till I wanted to kill him.But his dread also that she might have diphtheria made him tell me to go on,go on though he himself was almost fainting,while the mother moved back and forth behind us raising and lowering her hands in an agony of apprehension.

Put her in front of you on your lap,I ordered,and hold both her wrists,

But as soon as her did the child let out a scream.Don't ,you're hurting me,Let go of my hands,Let them go I tell you.Ther she shrieked terrifyingly,hysterically.Stop it!Stop it!You're kiloing me!

Do you think she can stand it,Doctor! Said the mother.

You get out,said the husband to his wife,Do you want her to die of diphtheria?

Come on now ,hold her ,I said.

Then i grasped the child 's head with my left hand and tried to get the wooder tongue depressor beteen her teeth,She fought,with clenched teeth,desperately!But now I also hd grown furious--at a child.I tried to hold myself down but I wouldn't.I know how to expose a trroat for inspectong.And i did my best.When finally I got the wooden spatula behind the last teekth and just the point of it into the mouth cavity,she opened up for an instant but before i could see anything she came down again and gripped the wooden blade between her molars.She reduced it to splinters before i could get it out agian..

Aren't you ashamed ,the mother yelled at her ,Aren't you ashamed to act like that in front of the doctor?

Get me a smooth-handled spoon of some sort,i told the mother .WE're going through with this,The child's mouth was already bleeding,Her tongue was cut and she was screaming in wild hysterical shrieks.Perhaps I should have desisted and come back in an hour or more.No doubt it would have been better.But i have seen at least two chlrdren lying deed in bed of neglect in such cases,and feeling that i must get a diagnosis now or never i went at it agina.but the worst of it was that i too had got beyond reason.I could have torn the child apart in my own fury and enjoyed it.it was a pleasure to attack her.My face was burning with it.

The damned little brat must be protected agianst her own idiocy,one says to one's self at such times .Others must be protected against her.It is a social necessity .And all there things are true,But a blind fury,a feeling of adult shame,bred of a longing ofr muscular release are the operatives.One goes on to the end.

In the final unreasoning assault I overpowered the child's neck and jaws,I forced the heavy silver spoon back of her teeth and down her throat till she gagged,And there it was --both tonsils covered with membrane.she had fought valiantly to keep me from knowing her secret.She had been hiding that sore throat for three days at least and lying to her parents in order to escape just such an outcome as this,

Now truly she was furious .She had been on the defensive before but now she attacked .Tried to get off her father's lap and fly at me while tears of defeat blinded her eyes.

Abject   adj   可怜的，卑下的

admonish   v   告诫，劝告

apologetic   adj   道歉的，认错的

apology    n    道歉，谢罪

apprehension   n   畏惧，忧虑

brat    n    (贬义)小鬼，小东西

catlike   adj    猫一般的

claw    v    （用爪或爪状物）抓，撕，拉，夺    n   爪子

clench    v   紧咬， 紧闭，紧合

clenched   adj    紧合着的，咬紧着的

coax    Vt    哄劝，劝诱

contemptible    adj      鄙视的，不齿的

desist    v   停止，打消念头

diphtheria    n   白喉

distrustfully    adv   不相信地，怀疑地

distrust    vt   不相信，不怀疑，n   不信任，疑惑

distrustful    adj    不相信的，怀疑的

embarrassment     n   窘迫，难堪

gag    v    作呕，窒息，塞住...的口

heifer   n   (未生过牛犊的)小母牛

hysterical   adj    歇斯底里的，发狂般的

hysterically   adj    歇斯底里地，发狂般地

idiocy    n   极端愚蠢的举止

instinctively   adv   本能地

inwardly   adv   内心地，精神上地，内在地

membrance    n   膜状物

molar   n   白齿

muscular    adj    肌肉的

operative   n    起作用的因素

overpower   vt   制服，压服

photogravure    n    照相制版印刷

profusion    n   大量，丰富

shriek    n   尖叫声，vi   尖叫

spatula   n   压舌板

splinter    n    碎片，裂片

throat   depressor    压舌板

tonsil   n    扁桃体，扁桃腺

valiant   adj   勇敢的，英勇的

valiantly   adv   勇敢地，英勇地

wrist    n    手腕

sore throat   喉痛

ensue   vi. 跟着发生, 继起     vt. (基督教《圣经》用语)追求