And it all began with a fishing trip.
CHAPTER II.
A REVELATION
"And because of these things, to the keen old physician and student of
life, the boy was a revelation of that best part of himself--that best
part of the race."
It happened on the Doctor's first trip to the Ozarks.
Martha says that everything with the Doctor begins and ends with fishing.
Martha has a way of saying such things as that. In this case she is more
than half right for the Doctor does so begin and end most things.
Whenever there were grave cases to think out, knotty problems to solve,
or important decisions to make, it was his habit to steal away to a
shady nook by the side of some quiet, familiar stream. And he confidently
asserts that to this practice more than to anything else he owes his
professional success, and his reputation for sound, thoughtful judgment
on all matters of moment.
"And why not?" he will argue when in the mood. "It is your impulsive,
erratic, thoughtless fellow who goes smashing, trashing and banging
about the field and woods with dogs and gun. Your true thinker slips
quietly away with rod and line, and while his hook is down in the deep,
still waters, or his fly is dancing over the foaming rapids and swiftly
swirling eddies, his mind searches the true depths of the matter and
every possible phase of the question passes before him."
For years the Doctor had heard much of the fishing to be had in the
more unsettled parts of the Ozarks, but with his growing practice he
could find leisure for no more than an occasional visit to nearby
streams.
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