Read Anytime Anywhere Easy Ebook Downloads at ebookmeta.

com

Fundamentals of Nursing Made Incredibly Easy 2nd

Edition Lippincott Williams Wilkins

https://ebookmeta.com/product/fundamentals-of-nursing-made-
incredibly-easy-2nd-edition-lippincott-williams-wilkins/

OR CLICK HERE

DOWLOAD EBOOK

Visit and Get More Ebook Downloads Instantly at https://ebookmeta.com

 Recommended digital products (PDF, EPUB, MOBI) that
you can download immediately if you are interested.

LWW Fundamentals of Nursing Made Incredibly Easy

Lippincott Williams Wilkins

https://ebookmeta.com/product/lww-fundamentals-of-nursing-made-
incredibly-easy-lippincott-williams-wilkins/

ebookmeta.com

Nursing Pharmacology Made Incredibly Easy 3rd ed

Lippincott Williams Wilkins

https://ebookmeta.com/product/nursing-pharmacology-made-incredibly-
easy-3rd-ed-lippincott-williams-wilkins/

ebookmeta.com

ECG interpretation made incredibly easy 5th Edition

Lippincott Co

https://ebookmeta.com/product/ecg-interpretation-made-incredibly-
easy-5th-edition-lippincott-co/

ebookmeta.com

Exotic Small Mammal Care and Husbandry 1st Edition Banks

Ron E Sharp Julie M Doss Sonia D Vanderford Deborah A

https://ebookmeta.com/product/exotic-small-mammal-care-and-
husbandry-1st-edition-banks-ron-e-sharp-julie-m-doss-sonia-d-
vanderford-deborah-a/
ebookmeta.com
Apprehend Me No Flowers Madison Night Cozy Mystery 08
Diane Vallere Et El

https://ebookmeta.com/product/apprehend-me-no-flowers-madison-night-
cozy-mystery-08-diane-vallere-et-el/

ebookmeta.com

CUET-UG : Section-IA - English Language Entrance Test

Guide 1st Edition Rph Editorial Board

https://ebookmeta.com/product/cuet-ug-section-ia-english-language-
entrance-test-guide-1st-edition-rph-editorial-board/

ebookmeta.com

Bring Me Your Midnight 1st Edition Rachel Griffin

https://ebookmeta.com/product/bring-me-your-midnight-1st-edition-
rachel-griffin/

ebookmeta.com

Vibration Testing and Applications in System

Identification of Civil Engineering Structures 1st Edition
Heung-Fai Lam
https://ebookmeta.com/product/vibration-testing-and-applications-in-
system-identification-of-civil-engineering-structures-1st-edition-
heung-fai-lam/
ebookmeta.com

Gender and African Indigenous Religions 1st Edition Musa

W. Dube

https://ebookmeta.com/product/gender-and-african-indigenous-
religions-1st-edition-musa-w-dube/

ebookmeta.com
Manual of Crime Scene Investigation 1st Edition Anna
Barbaro

https://ebookmeta.com/product/manual-of-crime-scene-investigation-1st-
edition-anna-barbaro/

ebookmeta.com
Staff
Acquisitions Editor
Shannon W. Magee
Product Development Editor
Maria M. McAvey
Senior Marketing Manager
Mark Wiragh
Editorial Assistant
Zachary Shapiro
Production Project Manager
Marian Bellus
Design Coordinator
Elaine Kasmer
Manufacturing Coordinator
Kathleen Brown
Prepress Vendor
Absolute Service, Inc.
2nd edition

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health.

Copyright © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of this
book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
including as photocopies or scanned-in or other electronic copies, or
utilized by any information storage and retrieval system without written
permission from the copyright owner, except for brief quotations embodied
in critical articles and reviews. Materials appearing in this book prepared by
individuals as part of their official duties as U.S. government employees are
not covered by the above-mentioned copyright. To request permission,
please contact Wolters Kluwer Health at Two Commerce Square, 2001
Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, via e-mail at
[email protected], or via our website at lww.com (products and
services).

987654321

Printed in China

This work is provided “as is,” and the publisher disclaims any and all
warranties, express or implied, including any warranties as to accuracy,
comprehensiveness, or currency of the content of this work.

This work is no substitute for individual patient assessment based upon

healthcare professionals’ examination of each patient and consideration of,
among other things, age, weight, gender, current or prior medical
conditions, medication history, laboratory data and other factors unique to
the patient. The publisher does not provide medical advice or guidance and
this work is merely a reference tool. Healthcare professionals, and not the
publisher, are solely responsible for the use of this work including all
medical judgments and for any resulting diagnosis and treatments.

Given continuous, rapid advances in medical science and health

information, independent professional verification of medical diagnoses,
indications, appropriate pharmaceutical selections and dosages, and
treatment options should be made and healthcare professionals should
consult a variety of sources. When prescribing medication, healthcare
professionals are advised to consult the product information sheet (the
manufacturer’s package insert) accompanying each drug to verify, among
other things, conditions of use, warnings and side effects and identify any
changes in dosage schedule or contradictions, particularly if the medication
to be administered is new, infrequently used or has a narrow therapeutic
range. To the maximum extent permitted under applicable law, no
responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to
persons or property, as a matter of products liability, negligence law or
otherwise, or from any reference to or use by any person of this work.

LWW.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fundamentals of nursing made incredibly easy! / clinical editor, Tracy A.
Taylor. — 2nd edition.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 9781451194241
I. Taylor, Tracy A., editor.
[DNLM: 1. Nursing Care—United States. WY 100 AA1]
RT41
610.73—dc23
2014038944
 Contributors
Angel Boling, MSN, RN
Assistant Professor
Baptist College of Health Sciences
Memphis, Tennessee

Mary Ann Edelman, MS, RN

Professor
Kingsborough Community College
Brooklyn, New York

Rosemary Macy, PhD, RN, CNE

Associate Professor
Boise State University
Boise, Idaho

Beverly McLean, MSN, RN

Assistant Professor
Kettering College
Kettering, Ohio

Donna Moore, MSN, RN, COI

Associate Professor/Skills Lab Coordinator
Kettering College
Kettering, Ohio

Rhonda Sansone, MSN, RN, CRNP

Assistant Professor of Nursing
Wheeling Jesuit University
Wheeling, West Virginia
Patricia A. Slachta, PhD, RN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CWOCN
The Queen’s Medical Center
Honolulu, Hawaii
 Previous edition contributors
Elizabeth A. Archer, RN, EdD

Rita Bates, RN, MSN

Mary Ann Edelman, RN, MS, CNS

Erica Fooshee, RN, MSN

Sally Gaines, RN, MSN

Rebecca Crews Gruener, RN, MS

Mari S. Hunter, RN, APN-C, MSN

Rosemary Macy, RN, PhD(C)

Susan O’Dell, RN, APRN-BC, MSN, FNP

Rhonda M. Sansone, RN, MSN, CRNP

Sandra Waguespack, RN, MSN

 Contents
Part 1 Foundational concepts
1 Overview of nursing
Angel Boling, MSN, RN
2 Basics of health and illness
Angel Boling, MSN, RN
3 Ethical and legal considerations
Beverly McLean, MSN, RN
4 Nursing process
Rhonda Sansone, MSN, RN, CRNP
Part 2 General nursing skills
5 Communication
Mary Ann Edelman, MS, RN
6 Health assessment
Mary Ann Edelman, MS, RN
7 Taking vital signs
Rosemary Macy, PHD, RN, CNE
8 Asepsis and infection control
Rhonda Sansone, MSN, RN, CRNP
9 Medication basics
Rosemary Macy, PHD, RN, CNE
10 Medication administration
Rosemary Macy, PHD, RN, CNE
11 I.V. therapy
Rosemary Macy, PHD, RN, CNE
 Part 3 Physiologic needs
12 Oxygenation
Donna Moore, MSN, RN, COI
13 Self-care and hygiene
Mary Ann Edelman, MS, RN
14 Mobility, activity, and exercise
Donna Moore, MSN, RN, COI
15 Skin integrity and wound healing
Angel Boling, MSN, RN
16 Comfort, rest, and sleep
Rhonda Sansone, MSN, RN, CRNP
17 Pain management
Rhonda Sansone, MSN, RN, CRNP
18 Nutrition
Angel Boling, MSN, RN
19 Urinary elimination
Angel Boling, MSN, RN
20 Bowel elimination
Angel Boling, MSN, RN
Glossary
Index
 Preface
I have taught many areas of nursing in my years of educating students and
enjoy the excitement of new students as they begin their journey to the
study of nursing. My favorite part of teaching fundamentals is watching the
mastery of basic skills and the urge to learn more and grow as a student. I
admire students’ curiosity and tenacity as they try to master the content of
this respected profession. As an educator, it’s important to explain the
content in an interesting and easy-to-understand manner, especially when
discussing the foundation of nursing. As such, Fundamentals of Nursing
Made Incredibly Easy, second edition is a quick resource for the nursing
student and the instructor. In addition, practicing nurses can review the
foundation of nursing and skills.
The content is logically organized into three sections. The first,
“Foundational concepts,” provides an overview of nursing and information
on health care, ethical and legal considerations, and the nursing process.
The second section, “General nursing skills,” covers communication, health
assessment, vital signs, infection, and key medication information. Finally,
“Physiologic needs” contains information on oxygenation, patient self-care,
mobility, skin integrity, pain management, nutrition, and urinary and bowel
elimination.
Each chapter in Fundamentals of Nursing Made Incredibly Easy starts
with a brief outline of the content of the chapter, allowing readers to quickly
determine where they should focus. Practice National Council Licensure
Examination (NCLEX) questions at the end of each chapter serve to
challenge readers on how much information they absorbed. Memory
joggers offer simple tricks to help readers remember key information. Fun
illustrations and cartoons make learning fun—the surest way to keep
readers interested!
In addition, icons draw your attention to important issues:
 Teacher’s lounge—provides patient-teaching tips on such topics as
procedures, equipment, and home care

Ages and stages—identifies areas and procedures in which age

could impact the nurse’s care

Stay on the ball—focuses on critical areas involving possible

dangers, risks, complications, contraindications, or ways to
ensure safety

Take note!—offers tips on documentation.

Important topics added to this new edition include:

• Healthy People 2020

• Nutrition has been updated to include MyPlate.gov
• Includes social media relating to the profession of nursing
• Wound care current practice
• Medication and bar code scanning

Fundamentals of Nursing Made Incredibly Easy is a helpful addition

to the Incredibly Easy series, serving as an invaluable guide for nursing
students as they prepare for their nursing career and as a handy reference
for newly graduated and experienced nurses.

Tracy A. Taylor, MSN, RN

Associate Professor, Division of
Nursing
Kettering College
Kettering, Ohio
Part I Foundational
concepts

1 Overview of nursing

2 Basics of health and

illness

3 Ethical and legal

considerations

4 Nursing process
 Overview of nursing

Just the facts

In this chapter, you’ll learn:
♦ the historical roots of nursing and its emergence as a
profession
♦ practice guidelines and the educational background
required for nursing
♦ functions and roles of nurses in various care settings
♦ the guiding principles behind nursing theories and patient
care.

Historical evolution of nursing

As we progress through the 21st century, the role of the nurse continues
to expand. The increasing reliance on technology in nursing education
and practice, the pressures of health care reform, and the continuing
 crisis of noninsured or underinsured persons have combined to make
nursing practice more complex than ever.
The nursing profession has developed a reputation for successfully
delivering high-quality, cost-effective care. In fact, a survey of public
attitudes toward health care and nurses conducted in the United States
revealed that the public admires nurses and that most people are willing
to have an increasing portion of their care delivered by registered nurses.

The birth of nursing

Nursing’s origins lie in religious and military traditions that demanded
unquestioning obedience to authority. Florence Nightingale challenged
these traditions by emphasizing critical thinking, attention to patients’
individual needs, and respect for patients’ rights.

Go with Flo
 Nightingale proposed that schools of nursing be independent of
hospitals and that they provide nursing education but not patient care.
She demanded that her schools accept only qualified candidates and that
the students learn to teach as well as provide care.

Money, money, money

The first schools of nursing based on Nightingale’s model opened in the
United States in 1873 and in Canada in 1874. Her ideas were soon
discarded, however, when nursing schools realized that they couldn’t
survive without the hospitals’ financial support. At the same time,
hospitals recognized that nursing students were a major source of cheap,
disciplined labor. They began to hire student nurses instead of more
experienced—and more expensive—graduate nurses.

A specialist emerges
This situation changed after World War II, when major scientific
discoveries and technological advancements altered the nature of
hospital care. Increasingly, the care of hospitalized patients required
experienced, skilled nurses. The development of intensive and coronary
care units gave rise to the concept of the advanced clinician: a nurse
qualified to give specialized care and the forerunner of today’s clinical
nurse specialist.

Advanced knowledge and skills

After the war, nursing responded to greater public interest in health
promotion and disease prevention by creating another new role: the
nurse practitioner. Using advanced knowledge and skills, the nurse
practitioner helps promote health and helps prevent illness while caring
for the minor health concerns of patients.
Question, analyze, and argue
Another crucial change in nursing stemmed from a midcentury shift in
attitudes about education for women. The practice of extending full
educational opportunities to women has significantly altered the role
that nurses play in today’s health care system. Armed with a strong
educational base, nurses have the confidence necessary to question,
analyze, and argue for family-centered health care—and to secure a
major role for nursing in delivering that care.

Nursing as a profession
Florence Nightingale believed that a nurse’s goal should be “to put the
patient in the best condition for nature to act upon him.” Definitions of
 nursing have changed over time, but nursing has retained a common
focus: providing humanistic and holistic care to each patient.

Focus, focus
The American Nurses Association’s (ANA) definition of nursing shares
this focus: “The practice of nursing by a registered nurse is defined as
the process of diagnosing human responses to actual or potential health
problems; providing supportive and restorative care, health counseling
and teaching, case finding and referral; collaborating the implementation
of the total health care regimen; and executing the medical regimen
under the direction of a licensed physician or dentist.”

Not just a job

Most people use the term “nursing professionals” to describe a group of
people who practice nursing. However, not everyone agrees that nursing
has the full autonomy that it needs to distinguish itself as a profession
rather than an occupation.

We’ve got the power

Nursing already has achieved some degree of autonomy. It exercises
control over its education and practice. It has achieved legal recognition
through licensure. Every state and Canadian province now has a nurse
practice act, which requires nurses to pass state board examinations in
order to practice and regulates the scope of their practice. Nursing also
has a code of ethics, which is regularly updated to reflect current ethical
issues.
Independence is key
The key to professional nursing autonomy, however, is to function
independently of any other profession or external force. For many
nurses, this remains a goal to be achieved. As employees of large,
sometimes inflexible organizations, nurses seldom enjoy full latitude in
deciding on patient care within the defined scope of nursing practice.
However, by striving for individual excellence, each nurse can help this
emerging profession become a full-fledged profession.

Educational preparation
The ANA has identified two categories of nursing practice—
professional and associate—and established educational requirements
for each. According to the ANA’s guidelines, the minimum requirement
for beginning professional nurses is a baccalaureate degree in nursing
(BSN), whereas the minimum requirement for beginning associate
nurses is an associate’s degree in nursing (ADN).
Options abound
Besides pursuing a BSN at a 4-year college or university or an ADN at a
junior or community college, today’s undergraduate student nurses have
a third option: hospital-operated diploma programs. However, regardless
of which option she chooses, a graduate of any of these three programs
is eligible to sit for the same registered nurse (RN) licensing
examination.

Graduate level
After the nurse receives her baccalaureate degree, she may choose to
advance her education at the graduate level. She can choose from a
number of graduate fields, including nursing. She can choose a Master
of Arts (MA) in nursing, Master in Nursing (MN), or Master of Science
in Nursing (MSN). A master’s degree qualifies a nurse to serve as a
nurse educator, clinical nurse specialist, nursing administrator, or nurse
practitioner.

Is there a doctor in the house?

Doctoral education in nursing is expanding. Most doctoral programs in
nursing lead to a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree or a doctorate in
nursing practice (DNP).
A nurse with a doctorate might assume a leadership position in a
practice setting or as an educator of beginning nurses and those seeking
advanced clinical and educational preparation, including research in
nursing.

Practice guidelines
The way you practice your profession of nursing should be guided by
two sets of care documents: standards of nursing care and nurse practice
acts. The standards of nursing care are administered by the ANA, and
the nurse practice acts are administered by individual states or
provinces.
 Standards of nursing care
Standards of care set minimum criteria for your proficiency on the job,
enabling you and others to judge the quality of care you and your
nursing colleagues provide. They help to ensure high-quality care and,
in the legal arena, they serve as criteria to help determine whether
adequate care was provided to a patient. States may refer to standards in
their nurse practice acts. Unless included in a nurse practice act,
professional standards aren’t laws; they’re guidelines for sound nursing
practice.

Pie in the sky?

Some nurses regard standards of nursing care as pie-in-the-sky ideals
that have little bearing on the reality of working life. This opinion is a
dangerous misconception. You’re expected to meet standards of nursing
care for every nursing task you perform.
The ANA standards include two lists:
• standards of professional performance, which include guidelines for
quality of care, performance appraisal, education, collegiality, ethics,
collaboration, research, resource utilization, and leadership
• standards of practice, which outline professional responsibilities in
assessment, diagnosis, outcome identification, planning,
implementation, and evaluation. (See ANA standards of nursing
practice, pages 8 to 12.)
ANA standards of nursing practice
The standards below are adapted from standards of nursing practice
published by the American Nurses Association (ANA). The ANA
developed the standards (last revised in 2010) to provide registered
nurses with guidelines for determining quality nursing care. The courts as
well as hospitals, nurses, and patients may refer to these standards. The
standards of nursing practice are divided into the standards of practice,
which define care provided to patients, and the standards of professional
performance, which explain the level of behavior expected of the nurse
in a professional role.
Each standard below is followed by measurement criteria that give
key indicators of competent practice for that standard. This adaptation
of the standards doesn’t present the standards that are specific only to
advanced practice nurses.

STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
Standard 1: Assessment
The nurse collects patient health data.
Measurement criteria
1. Data collection is systematic and ongoing.
2. Data collection involves the patient, partners, and health care
providers when appropriate.
3. Priority of data collection activities is determined by the patient’s
immediate condition or needs.
4. Pertinent data are collected using appropriate evidence-based
assessment techniques and instruments.
5. Analytical models and problem solving tools are used.
6. Patterns and variances are identified by synthesizing relevant data
and knowledge.
7. Relevant data are documented in a retrievable form.

Standard 2: Diagnosis
The nurse analyzes the assessment data in determining the diagnosis.
Measurement criteria
1. Diagnoses are derived from the assessment data.
2. Diagnoses are validated with the patient, partners, and health care
providers when possible.
3. Diagnoses are documented in a manner that facilitates the
determination of the expected outcomes and care plan.

Standard 3: Outcomes identification

The nurse identifies expected outcomes individualized to the patient.
Measurement criteria
1. Identification of outcomes involves the patient, family, and health
care providers when possible and appropriate.
2. Outcomes are culturally appropriate and are derived from the
diagnoses.
3. Outcomes are formulated taking into account any associated risks,
benefits, costs, current scientific evidence, and clinical expertise.
4. Outcomes are defined in terms of the patient, the patient’s values,
ethical considerations, environment, or situation along with any
associated risks, benefits, costs, and current scientific evidence.
5. Outcomes include a time estimate for attainment.
6. Outcomes provide direction for continuity of care.
7. Outcomes are modified based on the patient’s status.
8. Outcomes are documented as measurable goals.

Standard 4: Planning
The nurse develops a care plan that prescribes interventions to attain
expected outcomes.
Measurement criteria
1. The plan is individualized to the patient’s condition or needs.
2. The plan is developed with the patient, partners, and health care
providers.
3. The plan includes strategies that address each of the diagnoses.
4. The plan provides for continuity of care.
5. The plan includes a pathway or timeline.
 6. Priorities for care are established with the patient, family, and others
when appropriate.
7. The plan provides directions to other health care providers.
8. The plan reflects current statutes, rules and regulations, and
standards.
9. The plan integrates current trends and research.
10. The economic impact of the plan is considered.
11. The plan is documented using standardized language and
terminology.

Standard 5: Implementation
The nurse implements the plan.
Measurement criteria
1. Interventions are implemented in a safe and timely manner.
2. Interventions and any modifications to the plan are documented.
3. Interventions are evidence-based and specific to the diagnosis.
4. Interventions include community resources and systems.
5. Implementation includes collaboration with other health care
providers.

Standard 5a: Coordination of care

The nurse coordinates care delivery.
Measurement criteria
1. The nurse coordinates implementation of the plan.
2. The nurse manages consumer care to maximize independence and
quality of care.
3. The nurse assists with identification of options with alternative care.
4. The nurse communicates with the consumer, family, and health care
system during transitions of care.
5. The nurse advocates for dignified and humane care by the
interprofessional team.
6. The coordination of care is document.

Standard 5b: Health teaching and health promotion

The nurse promotes health and a safe environment.
Measurement criteria
1. Health teaching includes healthy lifestyles, risk-reducing behaviors,
developmental needs, activities of daily living, and preventive self-care.
2. Health promotion and teaching are appropriate to the patient’s needs.
3. Feedback is received on the effectiveness of health promotion and
teachings.
4. Information technology is used to communicate health promotion
and disease prevention information.
5. Information is provided to consumers concerning intended effects, as
well as potential adverse effects of proposed therapies.

Standard 6: Evaluation
The nurse evaluates the patient’s progress toward attaining outcomes.
Measurement criteria
1. Evaluation is systematic, ongoing, and criteria-based.
2. The patient, partners, and health care providers are involved in the
evaluation process.
3. The effectiveness of the plan is evaluated in relation to the patient’s
responses and outcomes.
4. The results of the evaluation are documented.
5. Ongoing assessment data are used to revise diagnoses, outcomes,
and the care plan as needed.
6. Results of the evaluation are disseminated to the patient and other
health care providers involved with the patient’s care in accordance with
all laws and regulations.

STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE

Standard 7: Ethics
The nurse integrates ethics in all areas of practice.
Measurement criteria
1. The nurse’s practice is guided by the Code for Ethics for Nurses with
Interpretive Statements (ANA, 2001).
 2. The nurse preserves and protects patient autonomy, dignity, and
rights.
3. The nurse maintains patient confidentiality.
4. The nurse acts as a patient advocate and assists patients in
developing skills so they can advocate for themselves.
5. The nurse maintains a therapeutic and professional patient-nurse
relationship within professional role boundaries.
6. The nurse is committed to practicing self-care, managing stress, and
connecting with self and others.
7. The nurse helps resolve ethical issues, including participating in
ethics committees.
8. The nurse reports illegal, incompetent, or impaired practices.

Standard 8: Education
The nurse acquires current knowledge and competency in nursing
practice.
Measurement criteria
1. The nurse participates in ongoing educational activities related to
knowledge bases and professional issues.
2. The nurse is committed to lifelong learning through self-reflection
and inquiry to identify learning needs.
3. The nurse seeks experiences that reflect current practice to maintain
current clinical practice and competency.
4. The nurse seeks knowledge and skills appropriate to the practice
setting.
5. The nurse seeks experiences and formal and independent learning
activities to maintain and develop clinical and professional skills and
knowledge.
6. The nurse identifies learning needs based on nursing knowledge,
roles assumed, and changing needs of the population.
7. The nurse participates in formal/informal consultation to address
issues in nursing practice.
 8. The nurse shares educational findings, experiences, and ideas with
peers.
9. The nurse contributes to the work environment conducive to the
education health care professionals.
10. The nurse maintains professional records that evidence competency
and lifelong learning.

Standard 9: Evidence-Based Practice and Research

The nurse uses research findings in practice.
Measurement criteria
1. The nurse uses the best available evidence, including research
findings, to guide practice decisions.
2. The nurse participates in research activities as appropriate to her
position and education. Such activities may include:
– identifying clinical problems suitable for nursing research
– participating in data collection
– participating in a formal committee or program
– sharing research findings with others
– conducting research
– critiquing research for application to practice
– using research findings in the development of policies, procedures,
and standards for patient care
– incorporating research as a basis for learning.

Standard 10: Quality of practice

The nurse systematically enhances the quality and effectiveness of
nursing practice.
Measurement criteria
1. Quality is demonstrated by documenting the application of nursing
process in a responsible, accountable, and ethical manner.
2. The nurse uses the results of quality-of-care activities to initiate
changes in nursing practice and throughout the health care delivery
system.
3. The nurse uses creativity and innovation to improve care delivery.
 4. The nurse participates in quality improvement activities. Such
activities may include:
– identifying aspects of care important for quality monitoring
– identifying indicators used to monitor quality and effectiveness of
nursing care
– collecting data to monitor quality and effectiveness of nursing care
– analyzing quality data to identify opportunities for improving care
– formulating recommendations to improve nursing practice or patient
outcomes
– implementing activities to enhance the quality of nursing practice
– developing policies, procedures, and practice guidelines to improve
quality of care
– participating on interdisciplinary teams that evaluate clinical practice
or health services
– participating in efforts to minimize cost and unnecessary duplication
– analyzing factors related to safety, satisfaction, effectiveness, and
cost-benefit options
– analyzing organizational barriers
– implementing processes to remove or decrease organizational barriers
– incorporating new knowledge to initiate change in nursing practice if
outcomes aren’t achieved.

Standard 11: Communication

The nurse communicates effectively in all areas of practice.
Measurement criteria
1. The nurse assesses communication preferences of health care
consumers, families, and colleagues.
2. The nurse assesses his/her own communication skills with health care
consumers, families, and colleagues.
3. The nurse seeks continuous improvement of communication and
conflict resolution skills.
4. The nurse conveys information to health care consumers, families, the
interprofessional team, and others to promote effective communication.
5. The nurse questions rationales and decisions of patient care processes
and decisions, discloses observations or concerns related to hazards or
errors in care, maintains communication with other providers to optimize
safe patient care.
6. The nurse contributes his/her professional perspective with discussions
with the interprofessional team.

Standard 12: Leadership

The nurse shows leadership in the practice setting and in the profession.
Measurement criteria
1. The nurse is a team player and a team builder.
2. The nurse creates and maintains healthy work environments.
3. The nurse is able to define clear visions, associated goals, and plans
to implement and measure progress.
4. The nurse is committed to continual, lifelong learning for self and
others.
5. The nurse teaches others to succeed by mentoring and other
strategies.
6. The nurse is creative and flexible through changing times.
7. The nurse exhibits energy, excitement, and passion for quality work.
8. The nurse takes accountability of self and others.
9. The nurse inspires loyalty through valuing people as the most
precious asset in an organization.
10. The nurse directs the coordination of care across settings and among
caregivers, including licensed and unlicensed personnel.
11. The nurse serves on committees, councils, and administrative teams.
12. The nurse promotes the advancement of the profession by
participating in professional organizations.

Standard 13: Collaboration

The nurse collaborates with the patient, family, and others in providing
patient care.
Measurement criteria
 1. The nurse communicates with the patient, family, and health care
providers regarding patient care and the nurse’s role in providing that
care.
2. The nurse involves the patient, family, and others in creating a
documented plan focused on outcomes and decisions related to care and
the delivery of services.
3. The nurse collaborates with others to effect change and get positive
outcomes for patient care.
4. The nurse makes and documents referrals, including provisions for
continuity of care.
5. The nurse documents plans, communications or collaborative
discussions, and rationales for plan changes.

Standard 14: Professional practice evaluation

The nurse evaluates her own nursing practice in relation to professional
practice standards and relevant statutes and regulations.
Measurement criteria
1. The nurse provides culturally and ethnically sensitive and age-
appropriate care.
2. The nurse engages in self-evaluation of practice on a regular basis,
identifying areas of strength as well as areas where professional
development would be beneficial.
3. The nurse seeks constructive feedback regarding his or her own
practice.
4. The nurse participates in systematic peer review as appropriate.
5. The nurse takes action to achieve goals identified during the
evaluation process.
6. The nurse provides rationales for practice beliefs, decisions, and
actions as part of the evaluation process.
7. The nurse interacts with peers and colleagues to enhance his/her
professional nursing practice or role performance.
8. The nurse provides peers with formal/informal constructive feedback
regarding roles and practice.
Standard 15: Resource utilization
The nurse considers factors related to safety, effectiveness, cost, and
impact in planning and delivering patient care.
Measurement criteria
1. The nurse evaluates factors related to safety, effectiveness,
availability, cost and benefits, efficiencies, and impact when choosing
practice options that would result in the same expected patient outcome.
2. The nurse assists the patient and family in securing appropriate
health-related services.
3. The nurse delegates tasks as appropriate.
4. The nurse assists the patient and family in becoming informed
consumers about health care treatment.

Standard 16: Environmental Health

The nurse practices in an environmentally safe and healthy manner.
Measurement criteria
1. The nurse maintains knowledge of environmental health concepts.
2. The nurse assesses and promotes a practice environment that reduces
associated health risks.
3. The nurse uses scientific evidence to determine safety of products,
communicates potential environmental hazards, and advocates for
appropriate use of products in health care.
4. The nurse participates in strategies to promote healthy communities.
Reprinted with permission from American Nurses Association. (2010). Nursing: Scope
and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Nursesbook.org.
 Nurse practice acts
The nurse practice act of each state defines the practice of nursing for
that state. Nurse practice acts are broadly worded, and the wording
varies from state to state. Understanding your nurse practice act’s
general provisions will help you stay within the legal limits of nursing
practice. With the emergence of more autonomous and expanded roles
for nurses, many states have started to revise their nurse practice acts to
reflect the greater responsibilities associated with current nursing
practice.

Not an easy task

Interpreting your nurse practice act isn’t always easy. One problem
stems from the fact that nurse practice acts are statutory laws. So, any
amendment to a nurse practice act must be accomplished by means of
the inevitably slow legislative process. Because of the time involved in
 pondering, drafting, and enacting laws, amendments to the nurse
practice acts lag well behind the changes in nursing.

A nursing dilemma
You may be asked to perform tasks that seem to be within the accepted
scope of nursing but in fact violate your state’s nurse practice act. Your
state’s nurse practice act isn’t a word-for-word checklist on how you
should do your work. You must rely on your own education and
knowledge of your facility’s policies and procedures.

Limits of practice
Make sure you’re familiar with the legally permissible scope of your
nurse practice act, as defined in your state’s nurse practice act and board
of nursing rules and regulations. Otherwise, you’re inviting legal
trouble.

Licensure and certification

All nurses must be licensed in the state in which they practice. The
National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) must be taken and
passed by all RN candidates. The test is exactly the same in all states.
The practicing nurse may choose to be certified in a specialty area in
which she works. Each certification has minimum requirements, such as
education and current work experience. After the nurse has met these
requirements and passed an examination, she maintains the certification
by continuing education and clinical or administrative practice. (See It’s
all in the certification, pages 12 and 13.)
It’s all in the certification
This list includes some of the nursing specialty certifications and their
appropriate credentials.

Addictions nursing
Certified Addictions Registered Nurse (CARN)

Advanced practice nursing

Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (APRN, BC)
Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP)
Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
Gerontological Nurse Practitioner (GNP)
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP)
Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)

Childbirth educators
Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE)

Critical care nursing

Adult Critical-Care Registered Nurse (CCRN)
Cardiac Medicine Certification (CCRN-CMC)
Cardiac Surgery Certification (CCRN-CMS)
Clinical Nurse Specialist in Acute and Critical Care; Adult, Neonatal, or
Pediatric (CCNS)
Neonatal Critical-Care Registered Nurse (CCRN)
Pediatric Critical-Care Registered Nurse (CCRN)
Progressive Care Certified Nurse (PCCN)

Diabetes educators
Certified Diabetic Educator (CDE)

Emergency nursing
Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN)
Flight nursing
Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN)

Gastroenterology nursing
Certified Gastroenterological Registered Nurse (CGRN)

Genetic nursing
Advanced Practice Nurse in Genetics (APNG)
Genetics Clinical Nurse (GCN)

Health care quality nursing

Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ)

HIV-AIDS nursing
AIDS Certified Registered Nurse (ACRN)

Holistic nursing
Holistic Nursing Certification (HNC)

Hospice and palliative nursing

Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN)

Infection control nursing

Certified in Infection Control (CIC)

Infusion nursing
Certified Registered Nurse of Infusion (CRNI)

Lactation consultant
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)

Legal nurse consulting

Legal Nurse Consulting Certification (LNCC)

Managed care nursing

Certified Managed Care Nurse (CMCN)
Maternal-neonatal nursing
Inpatient Obstetric Nurse (RNC, INPT)
Low Risk Neonatal Nurse (RNC, LRN)
Maternal Newborn Nurse (RNC, MN)
Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse (RNC, NIC)

Medical-surgical nursing
Certified Medical Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN)

Nephrology nursing
Certified Nephrology Nurse (CNN)

Neuroscience nursing
Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse (CNRN)

Nurse administration: Long-term care

Certified Director of Nursing, Administration in Long-Term Care
(CDONA/LTC)

Nurse anesthetist
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

Nurse midwifery and midwifery

Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)

Nutrition support nursing

Certified Nutrition Support Nurse (CNSN)

Occupational health nursing

Certified Occupational Health Nurse (COHN)
Certified Occupational Health Nurse/Case Manager (COHN/CM)

Oncology nursing
Certified Oncology Nurse (OCN)

Ophthalmic nursing
 Certified Registered Nurse Ophthalmology (CRNO)

Orthopedic nursing
Orthopedic Nurse Certified (ONC)

Pediatric nursing
Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN)
Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (CPNP)

Pediatric oncology nursing

Certified Pediatric Oncology Nurse (CPON)

Perianesthesia nursing
Certified Post Anesthesia Nurse (CPAN)
Certified Ambulatory Perianesthesia Nurse (CAPA)

Perioperative nursing
Certified Nurse Operating Room (CNOR)
RN, First assistant (CRNFA)

Rehabilitation nursing
Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN, CRRN-A)

School nursing
National Certified School Nurse (NCSN)

Urology nursing
Certified Urologic Registered Nurse (CURN)
Certified Urologic Nurse Practitioner (CUNP)

Professional organizations
Professional organizations are an important part of your nursing
profession. They provide current information and resource material and
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
could see and hear, nothing was wrong, yet he felt that something
terrible had happened. It was at this point that he retreated
suddenly from the window, with one awesome word beating
insistently upon his confused brain.

"Murder!" he cried aloud in the empty room. "Murder!"

He sprang towards the door, clothed only in his shirt, and pulled it
open with a jerk. Half frenzied with fear and possessed by an
agonized feeling of terror, he shouted the word down the narrow
staircase. People below were talking quietly, and moving about on
various tasks intent, but at the sound of that choking cry, both
movements and voices resolved themselves into an uncanny pause.

Shortly, the terror-stricken creature clinging to the top railings heard

heavy footsteps ascending, and aware of his light attire, he slipped
back into his room and into bed. The footsteps came nearer and a
rough bearded face peered in at the door. It was that of the
landlord, of whom he had caught a mere glimpse on the previous
night. Mrs. Narby was well matched in her help-mate--outwardly at
least--for he was a bulky, stout animal, with a heavy fist and a
violent temper, when aroused. But for the most part he was too
lethargic to become enraged, unless some special event demanded
the use of uncontrolled passion. At the present moment, his mild
face--in repose it was strangely mild--exhibited only wonder.

"What are you howling about?" he asked gruffly, and staring with
bent brows at the white-faced man.

"Murder!" chattered Herries, shivering and sitting up in bed, chin on

knees, "at least----" he flung the razor towards the man.

Narby, by this time well within the room, deftly caught the article,
and examined it closely. "Blood!" said he under his breath; then
looked at Herries, still shivering as with ague. "But y' ain't dead, cut
yourself maybe, shaving?"
"I have not shaved for two days. I have no razor with me, that is not
mine. Who has been murdered?" so Herries babbled, confusedly.

"Why, no one," growled the landlord, bristling. "This is a decent inn,

this is. Do you think we take in folks to cut their throats. You've had
a nightmare and this razor of yours----"

"It is not mine," passionately interrupted the young man. "I found it
on the quilt when I woke at nine this morning."

"It's nearly ten by now."

"Then I mistook the time, having no watch. But the blood----"

"It is queer," admitted Narby, meditatively, "but there's no one dead,

so far as I know. Old Gowrie slept in the tap-room, and went off at
seven. My wife and Elspeth are alive and busy; Pope, too, ate a
good breakfast, and there's no sign of a corpse about me."

"What of the gentleman who came last night?"

"He went away at eight, as he arranged, without his breakfast. My

wife saw him pass through the tap-room in that fur-coat of his, and
no wonder on such a chilly morning. He never passed the time of
day--gentry manners in this country, I 'spose."

"Then there's nothing wrong!" cried Herries, more bewildered than

ever.

"Not that I know of. Someone's been having a joke with you, though
who'd play a low-down trick like this is more nor I can tell."

Narby looked at Herries, and Herries stared back at Narby, both

puzzled, and both bad-tempered. Whosoever had played this poor
joke, if joke it was, the landlord at least was innocent of the jest.
The young man shook his head to clear it of cobwebs and signed to
the other to leave the room, intending to get up and dress. The
voice of Mrs. Narby in the passage chained him to the bed.

"Wot's he 'ollerin' abaout?" she asked in her vile dialect.

"Had the nightmare," grumbled her spouse, pushing her back as she
tried to peep in.

"Ho! Then he'd best cut. D'y 'ear,--you," she shouted. "We don't
want no crazy coves 'ere. Elspeth, go an' mek the front room bed.
The gent hev gorn, an' th' room mus' be streight in a jiffy."

There was an inaudible reply, as Elspeth's light feet tripped past the
noisy landlady. Shortly Herries heard her speak, for his bedroom
door was still ajar, and the worthy couple were discussing his
strange cry, angrily.

"The door is locked," said Elspeth.

"Nonsense," cried Mrs. Narby, going to the girl. "Wot shud he lock it
fur, I'd like to knaow, an' 'im gittin' orf th' fust thing in th' mornin'?
Ho," Herries heard her shake the door violently, "locked it is.
Blimme, if he ain't gorn with th' key, 'aving locked the bloomin' door.
I'll have th' lawr of him. Elspeth, git outside, an' up t' th' front
winder. Them trellises mek quite a ledder."

"I'll do it," said Narby, quickly.

"You're too 'eavy. Ony a light shrimp like Elspeth cud git h'up. I don'
want my trellises mussed up. Elspeth!"

"I'm afraid." Herries heard the girl say timidly.

"Y' ain't! Wot cause 'ave y' t' be afraid, y' mealy-mouthed, little, silly
slut. Up y' go, or----" evidently a fist was raised at this point.
"She shan't," growled Narby, who seemed to have more decent
feeling than his wife. "Here, stand aside!"

"If y' break th' door, it means poun's an' poun's," screamed the
virago. The listening man heard a crash, and an angry ejaculation
from Mrs. Narby at the destruction of her property. Then came a
wild cry from Elspeth, an oath from the landlord, and finally a panic-
stricken silence. With his fears again knocking at his heart, Herries
jumped up, and hurriedly slipped into his trousers. Scarcely were
they on, before Narby burst into the room, white-faced and savage.
Behind, came his wife, bellowing like a fury of the Revolution.
Elspeth in the meanwhile had fainted in the passage.

"You killed him!" shouted Narby fiercely, running towards Herries,

and flung him like a feather on the bed.

"Killed--killed--whom?" gasped the young man, bursting into a cold

perspiration.

"The gent as came last night. He's lying next door with his throat
slit, you murdering devil!"

"Oh!" shivered Herries, "the razor."

"Your razor!"

"It's not mine. Let me up," and he struggled to rise.

"No. You stop here, until I send for the police. 'Liza!--ah would you?"

Herries, realizing his dreadful position, had begun to resist violently,

and Narby held him down with brawny hands. As the two swung in
close grips on the bed, there was a tinkling sound, and a shout from
Mrs. Narby, who was red-faced and furious.

"Th' key,--th' blessed key," she screeched, picking it up from the

floor, whence it had fallen off the bed. "Oh, the bloomin' Jack th'
Ripper cove. He's ruined th' cussed 'ouse."

"It's a lie--a lie," breathed Herries, weakly.

Narby, with his knee on the other's chest, laughed grimly. "You'll
have to prove that to a jury, my lad. The razor,--the key of the next
room,--the--the--why here," he broke off to snatch at the stained
shirt-sleeve, "more blood, you reptile," and he shook the young man
with unrestrained anger.

"'Ow! 'Ow! 'Ow!" Mrs. Narby began to exhibit symptoms of hysteria,

"he killed the pore gent. Pope,--Pope,--me darlin' boy. 'Elp! 'Elp."

"Let me up," gasped Herries, "you're stifling me."

"I'll leave the hangman to do that, sonny."

"I--I--won't--try to--to--escape."

"You bet you won't," said Narby, in quite an American way, and
seeing that there was really a chance of the young man becoming
insensible under over-rough handling, he released his hold. "Dress
yourself," he said sternly, "but out of this room you don't go, till the
police come. 'Liza!--I say, 'Liza?"

There was no reply. Mrs. Narby had hurled herself down the stairs
and they could hear her harsh voice clamouring for her son, and for
drink to revive her. Shortly the murmur of many voices swelled out.
Evidently the woman had summoned the neighbours, and Herries
shivered at the snarl of an enraged mob.

"I never killed the man," he wailed, utterly broken up. "I know
nothing about him,--I never saw him,--I didn't,----"

"Shut up," snapped Narby roughly, and pushed him back again on to
the disordered bed. "I've known a man lynched, down 'Frisco way,
for less than this. I reckon you'll dance at the end of a rope, before
the month's out. See here," he went to the window, glanced out and
returned to shake a large and menacing finger, more American in
speech than ever. "You try an' light out that way, sonny, an' I shoot
you straight. I keep my Derringer for use, not for show. D'ye see;
you stop here."

"I am perfectly willing," retorted Herries, now beginning to recover

his courage, since the worst of the shock was over. "I can easily
clear my character."

Narby smiled grimly, and shook his head.

"Better say no more," he advised, "what you say, will tell against
you."

"Surely you don't believe me guilty?"

"You make me tired," said Narby sharply, "you are in the next room
to a murdered man, you show me a blood-stained razor, and you
have blood on your shirt, and the key of the next room. Believe you
guilty! Well, I guess I do. Say your prayers, sonny, for you'll hang as
sure as you're a living man, which you won't be long," and without
another word, the burly landlord left the room, locking the door after
him.

With an eminently human impulse to seek immediate safety, the

prisoner ran to the window. But there was no escape that way. He
could easily drop into the garden, climb over the low fence and fly
across the marshes, hidden by the kindly mists. But the palings
which parted the garden from the village street were now lined with
curious and horrified spectators. Men and women and children
stared insistently at the mean house, with that fascination begotten
of a morbid love of crime. No such exciting event had happened in
the dull little Essex village for many a year,--if indeed ever before;
and the whole population was agog with excitement. Mrs. Narby was
haranguing her neighbours, and fiercely pointing at intervals towards
the house, crying wildly that the inn was ruined. Catching sight of
Herries at the window, she shook a large fist, and a sea of faces
looked upward. Then came a howl of execration. From that terrible
sound Herries, though courageous enough, shrank back, and closed
the window in a panic. Then he staggered to the bed and lying down
tried to reason calmly.

The stranger in the next room, whosoever he was, had been

murdered. The key of that room had been found in this one; also, on
the bed-quilt had lain the weapon with which, presumably, the dead
man's throat had been cut. Then there was the damning evidence of
the bloody sleeve. Herries examined this, and found that the stains
streaked downward from the elbow, as though someone with
reddened fingers had drawn them down the woollen fabric. On
making this discovery the unhappy man regained his feet, scenting a
conspiracy. "Some enemy has done this," he argued, trying to keep
himself cool and composed. "I have fallen into a trap. The assassin,
after committing the crime, must have come deliberately into my
room, in order to implicate me in the matter. I was sound asleep, so
he could easily have smeared my sleeve and left the razor and key.
But who could have done it, and why was it done? I know no one in
these parts,--I arrived here alone and unknown, and----"

He stopped as a sudden thought flashed through his brain. Michael

Gowrie knew his name, and Gowrie had come to this very room on
the previous evening with a glass of toddy. Could it be that Gowrie
had murdered this unknown man, and had then arranged the snare,
so that a perfectly innocent being should bear the penalty of his
wickedness. It was credible, and yet,--from what Herries
remembered of the old scamp,--Gowrie was not the man to commit
so dreadful a deed. In his degraded state, the ex-minister would
steal at a pinch in order to procure money for drink. He would lie
glibly; he would blackmail, and bear false witness to serve his own
ends; but Herries could not think even so base a man capable of
murder. For one thing he would not have the nerve, seeing that
drink had shattered his system. No! It would not be Gowrie, and yet,
if not Gowrie, who could have an interest in implicating a stranger in
the awful tragedy?

Again, as Herries reflected when his brain became clearer, Mrs.

Narby said that the gentleman, who had occupied the bedroom next
door, had departed in his noticeable fur coat at eight o'clock. If it
was he who had passed through the tap-room, it certainly could not
be him, who was lying dead in the next room. The affair was
puzzling, and not the least mysterious thing was that no one in the
house knew the dead man's name. He had come to see someone
and had duly retired to bed; next morning he was found dead. If this
was the case, who then could be the man who had visited him on
the previous night? Who was the man who had left at eight in the
morning, disguised in a fur coat belonging to the dead? There could
be but one answer. He was the assassin.

Again Herries looked out of the window, and saw that two men,--
yokels apparently,--were guarding it below; he stole to the door, and
strained his hearing to listen. Many people were coming and going in
the passage, and he heard the faint murmur of voices. What was
going on in the death-chamber, he could not think. The partitions of
the inn, doubtless constructed long ago for smuggling purposes,
were unusually thick, and even had a man spoken loudly in the next
room, the listener would have heard nothing but the sound. In that
case, as he argued, he could not have saved the dead man, even
had he been awake. Probably the poor wretch's throat had been cut
in his sleep. And who had killed him? And why had he, Angus
Herries, a stranger, a wanderer on the face of the earth, been
dragged into so hideous an affair?

These questions he asked himself constantly, while the slow hours

dragged onward. The village--Desleigh was its name, as he heard
later--was a long distance from the nearest town, whence a police
inspector could be called; and the local constable, without doubt,
had two or three of such villages to attend to. It was quite four or
five hours since he had been shut up in his room, and no one had
been near him. To pass the time, and escape from the terrible
thoughts which tormented his brain, Herries dressed himself as
neatly as he could. On leaving Pierside he had taken nothing with
him, as his enemy the captain had detained all his luggage. He had
nothing but the clothes he stood up in, and a few shillings,--say ten.
On arriving at the "Marsh Inn," he had possessed fifteen, but five of
these he had given for bed and board. He cursed the inn. Had he
not halted here, this trouble would never have come upon his
already over-burdened shoulders. And yet, he could not be sure of
this. He had always been Jonah the unlucky, and Jonah he would
remain, so far as his limited vision could see, until the end of his life.
Throughout five and twenty years of existence he had suffered
nothing but trouble. Everything went wrong with him. This new
disaster was all of a piece with the rest of the pattern, that was
being woven,--against his will, it would seem--on the looms of life.
He wondered, with a sigh, why God permitted so many troubles to
befall him, since he could see no good reason for their coming to
him so persistently. Then out of sheer desire to do something, he
searched his pockets for the remains of his poor fortune.

The ten shillings had vanished. Yet Herries knew that he had
counted them on the previous evening, immediately before he
retired to bed, and he had placed them in the right-hand pocket of
his trousers,--eight shillings and four sixpences. Alarmed at the loss,
which meant everything to him, he felt in every pocket, looked under
his pillow, examined the floor, but could find no trace of the money.

"How on earth can I get to Tarhaven?" he asked himself, and then it

came upon him with a shock, that he was not a free man.

Shortly a soft tap at the door roused him. He told the person who
knocked to enter, and a key turned in the lock. Elspeth, her face
white and her eyes red, entered, carrying a tray laden with coarse
food. This she set down, then impulsively she rushed forward and
caught his hand.
"You never did it," she panted, eagerly, and staring at him with
burning eyes. "You never, never did it."

"Of course not. I can prove my innocence. No," he made a gesture

of despair, as the full terror of his situation rushed upon him, "I say
that to comfort myself. I am in a perilous position."

"That a kind man such as you are, should do such a thing," the girl
went on, almost to herself, "it's ridiculous. You helped me with that
bucket; you would not murder a poor soul in his sleep."

"That I did not. I swear by all that I hold sacred," said Herries,
grateful for this true sympathy. "But you see how I am placed; you
know the strong evidence against me."

Elspeth nodded.

"Mr. and Mrs. Narby are talking of it," she whispered, with a
significant glance at the door, behind which no doubt some one was
watching. "The police will be here soon. They have sent to Tarhaven,
for the Inspector and the Doctor."

"What is the time now?"

"It is close upon three o'clock," said Elspeth. "Armour, who is the
village constable, is on his rounds at some other village, and
although they have sent out to get him, he cannot be found. But
Pope has gone by train to Tarhaven to bring the Inspector. I expect
he'll return every minute. And I cannot stop long; they will miss me.
But I want to be your friend," she added again catching his hand.
"Tell me, is there anyone I can send for, who will help you?"

"There is my friend, Dr. James Browne of Tarhaven. I have not seen

him for a couple of years, but I daresay he'll remember me. Write
and ask him to come, or perhaps you could procure me writing
material."
"No. They," she alluded to the Narby's, "will allow you nothing."

"Then send the letter yourself to Browne, you kind little soul. He
may say a good word for me."

"Is there no one else?"

Herries' head drooped.

"There is one I should not like to hear of my disgrace," he said,

faintly.

"Ah!" the girl's dark eyes lighted up with a jealous flame, "and her
name, Mr. Herries?"

The young man looked surprised.

"How can you guess that I am thinking of a woman?"

"I guess, because--because--oh, you would not understand. What is

her name? I'll see her if you like," her face grew red as she spoke,
and had Herries been more experienced in the other sex, he might
have seen that her feelings towards him, for his simple act of
kindness, were such as to make her hate anyone doing things for
him, save herself.

However, he saw nothing of this, and gave the information with all
frankness.

"Maud Tedder, she is a cousin of mine, the daughter of Sir Simon

Tedder, a famous manufacturer you may have heard of."

Elspeth nodded.

"I've seen his name on jam tins and such like," she said rapidly. "He
has a great house at Tarhaven."
"I know. I have been there once, a couple of years ago. But he
quarrelled with me, and turned me out."

"Because of Miss--Miss?" she could not say the name.

"Yes! I wanted to marry my cousin. Sir Simon would not let me."

"And she--she----?"

"She obeyed her father, as a daughter should," said Herries bitterly.

"But I do not know why I talk of these very private affairs to you.
But if you would----"

"Hush!" Elspeth placed a silencing finger on her lips, "the police."

Hardly had she left the room, when the Inspector--as he evidently
was from his smart uniform--entered in an abrupt manner. He was a
kindly, red-faced man, with a military moustache, and an official
manner, which made him assume a severity which Herries guessed
was foreign to his nature. Two policemen were visible in the narrow
passage as the Inspector entered the room, after a word or two with
the girl, to learn why she had been with the prisoner.

"Your name?" demanded the officer sharply, and taking in Herries'

looks with a shrewd and observant eye.

"Angus Herries. I am innocent," said the accused man hurriedly,

then, anxious to exculpate himself, he talked on vehemently, and
thereby did the worst thing possible. "I do not know the dead man's
name, or the man himself. I have never seen him. I was fast asleep
all the time. I found the razor, and----"

"Stop," said the Inspector peremptorily, "anything you say now will
be used in evidence against you. Hold your tongue, until I am ready
to examine you, and follow me," and with that he turned his back to
march out of the room.
Herries saw that it would be as well to be circumspect, and walked
silently after the representative of the law. The official turned to the
right and opened the door of the death room at which Narby was
standing. This was the first time the Inspector had been inside, and
he wanted Herries to be present to see what effect the sight of his
supposed victim would have on his nerves. The young man was glad
to enter. He wished to face the worst at once.

The room was similar to the other, bare, cold-looking, and sparingly
furnished with the flotsam and jetsam of auction rooms. Everything
seemed to be disordered, but the bedclothes were smoothed out,
and thereon lay a stiff figure, covered with a sheet. The police officer
turned down the sheet and beckoned Herries to approach. The very
next moment the young man staggered back amazed.

"Great Heavens!" he gasped, thunderstruck, "it is Sir Simon Tedder!"

CHAPTER III

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE

"Sir Simon Tedder!" Inspector Trent--as the red-faced official was

called--relaxed his stiffness, so far as to display astonishment. "The
millionaire, who made his fortune out of jam and pickles; who has a
house at Tarhaven?"

"Yes!" faltered Herries weakly, and sinking into a chair near the door,
he covered his shameful face. Trent, seeing tears trickling between
the nerveless fingers, felt convinced, with the assurance of the
shortsighted, that his experiment had proved successful. The guilty
man's self-control had given way at the sight of his victim. So
thought a jack-in-office, who was unable to see farther than his nose
by reason of natural and official limitations. But the truth was--and a
medical man would have surmised it--that Herries, with his long
tramp, his weakened frame, his despairing outlook, and the
surprising sight of his relative lying dead by violence, suddenly
became as unstrung as an hysterical woman. The tears relieved him,
and had they not broken forth, he would have become insane at the
mere thought of this terrible disaster falling upon him, after years
and years of cruel misfortune. He felt, and very naturally, like a
tormented rat in a trap, and could see no means of escape.

"Sir Simon Tedder," repeated Trent, with a gratified glance at the still
white face of the dead, "the millionaire," he rolled the agreeable
word on his tongue. "This will be an important affair!" and throwing
out his chest, he swelled with triumph at the thought of the fame
and praise which so notorious a case would bring him. "Why did you
kill him, young man?"

Herries, ashamed of the momentary weakness, dropped his hands

and dashed the moisture from his eyes.

"I--did--not--kill--him!" he declared with emphatic slowness.

Trent grew red and indignant at what he conceived to be a

shameless denial.

"I have heard the landlord's story," he retorted, pompously.

"And have therefore made up your mind, without hearing the other
side, that I am guilty," said Herries, bitterly. "Is it the custom of the
English law to hear only the accuser?"

"I am now prepared to listen to the defence," announced Trent,

hastily, and in spite of the strong evidence, and his own belief, he
felt sorry for the wreck before him, although red-tapeism
condemned the too purely human feeling.

Leaving a stolid policeman to guard the door of the death-chamber,

pending the arrival of the doctor, Trent led his prisoner down the
stairs, and into the stuffy back-parlour, which Sir Simon had occupied
on the previous evening. Mrs. Narby glared at the unfortunate man,
whom she accused of having ruined her inn, and Pope's weak, silly
face, alive with morbid curiosity, could be seen over the brawny
maternal shoulder. Herries shuddered. In spite of many misfortunes,
he had always been popular in his Bohemian world, and it was both
new and unpleasant for him to see venomous looks cast upon him.
Last night he had been merely an object of contemptuous interest;
now he was like a tiger prisoned behind bars, at which everyone
looked with dread and hatred.

As the short autumnal evening, rendered even more immediate by

the still prevailing foes, was rapidly closing in, Trent lighted the
cheap lamp which swung over the round table. The light and the oily
smell came simultaneously, as both door and window were closed,
and the room was crowded with frowsy furniture. The atmosphere
was sickly and malodorous, and Herries never entered a stuffy
apartment in after years without recalling that hopeless evening,
when his misfortunes culminated in nothing less than a Waterloo.

The Inspector seated himself at the round table in a magisterial

manner, and produced a portentous pocket-book. He permitted
Herries to sit down in an antique arm-chair, slippery with horse-hair,
and marvellously uncomfortable with an antimacassar of Berlin wool-
work. Having moistened a pencil with his tongue he proceeded to
ask what questions occurred to his not over-clever brain.

"What is your name?"

"Angus Herries."

"Your occupation?"
"I am a doctor, a ship's doctor, and I came last night from Pierside,
where the Arctic sealer 'Nansen' is lying."

"Why did you come to this almost unknown inn?"

"I walked from Pierside, intending to seek a friend at Tarhaven. My

strength gave way, and I stayed here to eat and sleep."

Trent took down these answers thoughtfully, then looked in what he

fondly thought was a piercing manner at the suspected man.

"You told me that you did not know the deceased?"

"I did. That is perfectly true. Until you showed me the corpse, I was
quite ignorant that Sir Simon had been killed. I did not even know
that he was in this house."

"You knew Sir Simon Tedder then?"

"Yes!" Herries hesitated, then looked boldly at the officer, "I have
nothing to conceal," he declared loudly, "Sir Simon is my uncle."

Trent looked at the shabby prisoner with great surprise; the reply
amazed him, as coming from such a tramp.

"It is impossible," he said, sharply. "Sir Simon was wealthy and much
respected. He would not allow his nephew to go about in rags."

Herries looked sullen.

"My uncle and I quarrelled."

"Oh," said the Inspector in a peculiar tone.

"Do you take that admission as a sign of guilt?" inquired Herries,

ironically.

"I take it to mean that you had bad feelings towards the deceased."
The prisoner shook his head.

"You are wrong, I had no bad feelings."

"And yet you quarrelled?"

"Violently!"

"Take care. What you say may be used against--" Herries rose with
an angry gesture.

"An innocent man such as I am does not need to be careful of his

words," he cried. "My life history is miserable enough certainly, but
there is no page of which I need be ashamed."

"For an educated man to be in such a plight--."

The prisoner again interrupted.

"Do you know what Jonah's Luck is?

"I know that the person you mention was swallowed by a whale,"
said Trent with dignity. "I am not entirely a heathen."

In spite of his misery Herries could not help smiling.

"I give you the whale," he said sarcastically. "In spite of my sojourn
in the Arctic regions, I have escaped the gullet of that animal. I
allude to the prophet's luck. Everything went wrong with him, as it
has done with me. Do you know what it is, Inspector, to be unlucky--
to try your hardest to earn bread and a roof in the face of
circumstances too hard to conquer? Have you ever found doors shut
against you? Has your family ever regarded you as a hopeless black
sheep, because you had not the money to wash your wool white? I
have been hungry, starving, almost without clothes, certainly without
fire on freezing days. Life has crushed me into the mire, and every
struggle I made to rise, was met with a fresh blow."
"Such miseries as these," said Dogberry, sapiently, "lead men to
commit crimes."

"In my case, no," cried Herries, striking the table heavily. "I can look
any man in the face, as I look into yours now, and can say that I am
honest, in thought, word, and deed."

His clear blue eyes looked into those of the Inspector, and it was the
official who first gave way. Turning over the leaves of his pocket-
book, to disguise the impression which Herries' frankness had made
on him, he took refuge in irritation, a sure sign that he had no
feasible reply to make.

"This isn't what we are here to talk about," he said testily. "I wish to
know what defence you have to make, to the charge brought
against you by the landlord?"

"What defence?--that I am innocent."

"On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that I never expected to find Sir Simon here, that I
did not know he was in the house, that I have no grudge against
him."

"How do I know that?" asked Trent, cunningly.

"Because I tell you that such is the case," said Herries haughtily,
"and if you will listen to a short account of my life, you may be able
to conquer the prejudice against me, which the couple who keep this
miserable inn have instilled into your breast."

"I am not prejudiced," snapped Trent, nettled, "say what you have to
say, and let us end this business as speedily as possible."

"I am only too anxious to do so," said Herries coldly and folding his
arms, still standing. "I am the son of Sir Simon Tedder's only sister.
He was a hard man, always, and when she married against his will,
he would never help her. My mother and father both died when I
was in my teens. They left enough money for me to gain an
education and secure a doctor's degree. I practised on shore with
bad success, and so went to sea. I have been away from England for
about two years, and since then I have never set eyes on my uncle,
until you showed me his corpse just now."

"When did you see him last?"

"Two years ago. I was doing badly, and called upon him to learn if
he would help me. He might have done so, but that I was in love
with his daughter, Maud. I had met her at the house of some friends
in Edinburgh, and saw her frequently. We loved, and when I saw my
uncle I told him this. He became angry, and turned me out of the
house. By his order Maud sent back my letters, and since then I
have had nothing to do with either of them. Why then, I ask you,
should I kill my uncle, seeing that I cannot benefit in any way by
such a crime? I landed here two days ago, unknown and friendless.
As I said, I was on my way to Tarhaven, to see a friend, when I put
up at this accursed inn last night."

"Who is your friend?"

"Dr. James Browne of Elgar Avenue, Tarhaven. We were fellow

students."

"I know him," said the Inspector, taking down the name. "Can he
vouch for your respectability?"

Herries smiled bitterly.

"Respectability and myself parted company long ago," said he with a

shrug, "but Browne knows all that I am telling you now, even to the
courting of my cousin Maud."

"What did he think of your quarrelling with your uncle?"

"He approved of my leaving the house. As to the quarrel, Browne
knows that I have a fiery temper."

"Oh," interrupted Trent in his peculiar tone, and thinking that he had
chanced upon something suspicious. "So you have a fiery temper?"

"Yes," admitted Herries, not dreaming of what such an admission

might mean to him. "But only when it is aroused by injustice and
insults. Last night it was not so roused. I went to bed shortly before
eight o'clock, ignorant, as I have said several times, that my uncle
was in the house. Had I known that, I would have gone on to
Tarhaven, weary though I was, rather than have slept under the
same roof with a man who insulted my mother and myself
shamefully."

Trent shook his head.

"All very fine. But the key of Sir Simon's room was found on the floor
of your bedroom. The razor, with which his throat was cut, was in
your possession, and there is blood on the sleeve of your shirt."

The young man hastily stripped off his coat, and held the right hand
sleeve of his shirt under the lamp, close to Trent's eyes.

"There are the smears," he said quietly, "and you will see that they
are made by fingers dipped in blood having been drawn down the
sleeve. Could I have done that myself? Also, when I found the razor
on my quilt when I awoke, I called up the landlord to ask him what
it meant. I knew nothing of the crime at the time, neither did Narby,
as he will tell you. Were I guilty, would I have acted in so foolish a
manner?"

"Oh yes, you would," said Trent, dictatorially, "criminals are very
artful, as I have often found."

It was apparently impossible to convince a man so bent upon finding

proofs of guilt where none existed, so Herries abandoned persuasion
and turned away with a shrug.

"I have nothing more to say!"

"Yes, you have," insisted Trent, stupidly. "Why did you conceal that
Sir Simon expected you last night?"

"He did not. He never knew that I was here, or even in England, as
we had not corresponded since he turned me out of his house at
Tarhaven two years ago. The maid Elspeth said that Sir Simon
expected a gentleman. I was not the man."

"You were the only stranger who came last night," said Trent digging
his pencil thoughtfully into the book.

"No. The expected visitor must have come last night, and have slept
here. Mr. Narby will tell you that Mrs. Narby saw him pass through
the tap-room at eight this morning."

"Did he not stop to pay the bill?"

"Mrs. Narby thought that the man was Sir Simon." The Inspector
rose quickly.

"What?" he asked in an amazed tone.

"I am only telling you what Narby told me, before either of us knew
that a murder had taken place," said Herries tartly. "He declared that
his wife had seen the gentleman, who occupied this parlour last
night,--and he was Sir Simon, as we know--pass through the tap-
room at eight as he had arranged."

"As he had arranged?"

"Yes. He paid for the rooms, and a meal last night, so I was told."

"But if he was killed, he couldn't have passed out."

"Not unless he was a spirit," said Herries, with a shrug, "but the man
whom Mrs. Narby took to be Sir Simon, certainly, according to her
story, had a fur coat on, that belonged to my uncle, the same in
which he arrived here last night."

Trent wrinkled his brow perplexedly. What Herries said quite upset
his calculations, and he found himself face to face with a criminal
mystery, such as had never before come into his official life. The
accused man, saw his advantage and followed it up.

"Why should not this unknown man have murdered my uncle," he

said quickly, "and have entered my bedroom to implicate me in the
crime?"

"Why should he have done that?"

"I cannot say. But my bedroom door was not locked, and I was fast
asleep, being quite worn out. The assassin left the razor and the
key; he drew his bloody fingers down the shirt sleeve of my right
arm, which probably lay outside the quilt. These are his marks," and
Herries again shook his stained sleeve in the officer's face.

By this time Trent was more himself, and aggressively official.

"It is not for you to teach me my duty," he said, his self-love

wounded. "The people who keep this inn must be examined before I
can come to any conclusion."

"You might also examine Mr. Gowrie," suggested Herries quickly,

"that is, if you can find him."

"Who is Mr. Gowrie?"

"An old tutor of mine, whom I found in the tap-room last night. He
went away--to London, I believe--at seven."
"Upon my word, Mr. Herries," said the Inspector sarcastically, "for a
man, who merely _chanced_ on this inn," he emphasised the word,
"you seem to have met, not only with relatives, but with friends."

"I met my uncle on his death-bed, and Gowrie in the tap-room," said
Herries, heatedly. "It is strange, I admit, since I came here so very
unexpectedly."

"Extremely strange," said Trent, scoffingly. "I don't believe in

coincidences myself. Every word you say seems to connect you more
and more with the crime. This Gowrie may have been your
accomplice."

"If so, he has left me in the lurch," said Herries, sitting down wearily,
and with all the fire gone out of him. "There seems to be a kind of
fatality haunting my steps. Jonah's luck, I expect."

Trent tried to keep up his official dignity, as he went to open the

door to call Mrs. Narby. But on passing Herries, the young man
looked so dejected, that he clapped him on the shoulder.

"Cheer up," he said in rather a shamefaced manner, "the evidence is

very black against you, I admit; but you may be able to clear
yourself yet."

"Find out the man who passed through the tap-room this morning at
eight, and my character will be cleared," said Herries.

Rather ashamed of his momentary yielding. Trent opened the door.

"I will thank you not to teach me my duty, sir," he said in a dignified
manner, and Herries shrugged his shoulders. It was terrible to think
that his liberty and life, should be in the power of so obvious an
idiot.

In the presence of Herries, the Inspector examined Mrs. Narby, who

from being voluble, now became tongue-tied. Mrs. Narby's youth
had brought her into frequent contact with the Whitechapel police,
and she knew the value of silence. Everything had to be clawed out
of her by persistent questioning, and all her answers went to prove
that Herries was assuredly the guilty person. As her vernacular was
vile and harsh, it will be as well to give the gist of her evidence in
decent English.

Sir Simon Tedder, she said, had arrived about half-past six on the
previous night, just before Herries came. He said that he wanted a
parlour and a bedroom, as he was expecting a gentleman to call
about eight o'clock. But the expected visitor never arrived and Sir
Simon--he had not given any name, nor had Mrs. Narby asked him
for one--seemed much annoyed. At ten o'clock he had retired to
bed, after paying the score, and announced that he would depart,
without breakfast, at eight in the morning. Mrs. Narby confessed
that she saw him--as she believed--pass through the tap-room in his
fur coat about that hour. He said nothing to her, and she said
nothing to him, being well-pleased with the liberal sum he had paid
her. She thought that having come to the inn secretly, he wished to
preserve his incognito, so let him pass out without a word. But at
ten o'clock--that is two hours later--the real Sir Simon had been
found dead in his bed. Without doubt, the man who escaped
through the tap-room could not have been the millionaire.

"But surely," said Trent, who was taking copious notes, "you must
have guessed that the man who went away was not Sir Simon."

Mrs. Narby placed her stout arms akimbo and raged.

"I never know'd es 'is naime wos Sir Simon, or anythink else," said
she shrilly. "An' th' gent es parsed through th' tap-room wos tall an'
stout, same es this Sir Simon y' torks of. He wore the same fur coat
es Sir Simon wore wen he come inter this very parlour overnight, so
'ow wos I t' know es the gent es slung 'is 'ook at eight this mornin'
wasn't th' same es come et harlf-past six in th' evenin'."
"Are you sure it was the same fur coat?"

"Yuss," said Mrs. Narby, stoutly, "there ain't no fur coat lef' in' th'
bedroom of th' gent es lies a deader. I looked fur it," added the
landlady defiantly, "es I sawr th' value, an' wanted summat fur my
bein' ruined by 'im," and she pointed towards Herries.

"I never killed him," muttered Herries, wearily. It seemed scarcely

worth while to contradict those who seemed certain that he was
guilty.

"Ho, but y' did," cried Mrs. Narby, shriller than ever. "Y' wos a pore
tramp with no money, and thet gent--Sir Simon es y' calls 'im--hed
'eaps an' 'eaps."

Trent looked up quickly.

"How do you know that?"

"I took in 'is tea," said Mrs. Narby, nodding vigorously, "an' Pope, me
son, took in th' toast which the gent ate. He wos settin' at thet there
table, with a 'eap of notes an' gold beside 'im, and a big morrocker
pocket-book, int' which he shovelled the money wen he saw Pope
an' me come in. Look fur the blue pocket-book, Mr. Policeman, an' if
it's gorn, it's that there cove," she again pointed to Herries, who
again shook his head, "as 'ave it."

"You can search me," said the accused man, opening his arms.

Trent took him at his word, and ran his hand down the young man's
sides. But nothing could be found. He then marched him and the
landlady upstairs and into the bedroom. Herries, with his hands in
his pockets, sat wearily by the window, while Trent examined the
room, aided by Mrs. Narby. The lady was extremely active. She
pulled the clothes from the bed, removed the wardrobe from against
the wall, and wrenched up the carpet, but all to no purpose. Then
while Trent looked up the chimney, Mrs. Narby, with surprising
activity, scrambled under the bed. She emerged in a minute or so,
with a smothered exclamation, covered with grime and fluff, and
held in her large hand a blue pocket-book of morocco.

"The money!" cried Trent, darting towards her.

Mrs. Narby shook out the pocket-book triumphantly,--

"Empty," she cried vindictively, "he's the thief an' assassing!" and she
flung the book at Herries' head.

CHAPTER IV

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

Mrs. Narby's discovery convinced Inspector Trent that his prisoner

was guilty. The razor, the key of the dead man's bedroom, the
smeared sleeve, and the pocket-book, all pointed to Herries as the
assassin. And to this material evidence could be added several
serious admissions. After an early denial, Herries had admitted that
he knew the deceased; he had acknowledged him to be a relative
with whom he had quarrelled; and he had stated that his temper
was fiery; finally, the presumed murderer, arriving at an unknown
inn on the particular night on which Sir Simon had slept there, had
occupied the room directly adjoining that of his victim. In the face of
such strong circumstantial evidence, it was scarcely to be wondered
at that Herries looked upon himself as lost. Weaker proofs had
hanged men just as innocent.
It was close on five o'clock when Trent came downstairs to see if the
doctor had arrived. He locked Herries in the bedroom, intending to
take him personally to Tarhaven prison, when the doctor had
examined the body. In the meantime there was no chance of Herries
escaping. From this solitary house, surrounded by marsh and fog, no
one, without being well acquainted with the neighbourhood (and
Herries was a stranger), could hope to get away without
endangering his life. The two yokels still watched under the window,
and three or four policemen were in and around the house. Trent felt
that his valuable prisoner was perfectly safe, and went back to the
stuffy parlour to examine Narby, and to question the landlady about
the man called Michael Gowrie, to whom Herries had alluded.

The heads of the household being thus employed, Elspeth and Pope
attended to the many customers who thronged the tap-room. A
great number of people had been drawn to the inn by an account of
the tragedy, and as some hours had elapsed since the discovery of
the body, the news was pretty widely known. Never before in its
sordid history had the "Marsh Inn" done such a roaring trade, and
Pope put his poetry and dreaming on one side, to deliver pots of
frothing beer to thirsty labourers, who lethargically discussed the
crime.

Elspeth, looking more miserable and white-faced than ever, moved

like an unquiet ghost about the room, fulfilling her duties in a
mechanical way, while her thoughts were busy with the prisoner
overhead. With the unreasoning affection of a woman, she was sure
in her own mind that Herries was innocent, not because of what he
said, but for the simple reason that he had been kind to her. That
episode of the bucket, at their first meeting, had established a silent
understanding between the two unlucky people, and each
recognised in the other a kindred spirit. Never before had Elspeth
met with an unsolicited act of kindness, and she was prepared to
think of the man who rendered it to her trodden-down self, as a god.
Moreover, the tones of his voice, the refinement of his face, the
kindly look in his eyes, and perhaps his handsome exterior, appealed
to her feminine nature. Moving about with steady eyes and firm lips,
she was wondering all the time how she could help her hero to
prove his innocence. But there is always one who loves and one who
is loved. Herries was the latter, for as yet, and very naturally, his
heart was untouched.

Shortly a picturesque figure entered the crowded tap-room in the

person of a short, thick-set man, dressed in a coster costume of the
ornate type. He wore bell-bottomed trousers of grey cloth, a short-
tailed jacket of the same hue and texture, a yellow waistcoat, and a
flaming red scarf twisted round his brawny throat. The dress was
profusedly decorated with buttons, mother-of-pearl buttons, which
appeared in every place where a button could be sewn on. His
brown bowler hat was trimmed with a large ostrich feather, and his
feet were shod with elegant, thin-soled, high-heeled, brown boots,
more suited to a London Street than to the mud of the Essex
marshes. This unusual figure--unusual at least in the country--
attracted much bovine attention, but the man pushed his way
towards Elspeth, and saluted her by touching his hat and kicking out
his right leg, sailor fashion.

"Sweetlips," said Elspeth, looking surprised at seeing him.

"Sweetlips Kind himself," replied the man in a pleasant and rather

cultivated voice, "just come into this smoky engine house, as the
fogs make it, with the caravan, and the missus--ill."

"Oh!" Elspeth's voice was full of sympathy, "is Rachel ill?"

"Diphtheria, poor lass, and what's a Cheap-jack like me to do with a

sick wife in a caravan?" he drew the sleeve of his jacket across his
kind, shrewd, grey eyes, and must have scratched himself with the
many buttons. "Is there a doctor about?" he asked huskily.

"The nearest doctor is ten miles away," explained the girl in a

sympathetic manner. "He comes to Desleigh only on Saturdays."