From Doctor Buller, who usually gave the anesthetics in
Burns's cases, and from Miss Mathewson, who almost invariably worked
upon the opposite side of the operating table, to the newest nurse whose
only mission was to be at hand for observation, the staff more or less
acutely sensed the situation. Not one of those who had been for any
length of time in the service but understood that it was an unusual
situation.
That James Van Horn and R.P. Burns had long been conscious or
unconscious rivals was known to everybody. Van Horn was not popular with
the hospital staff, while Burns might have ordered them all to almost
any deed of valour and have been loyally obeyed. But Van Horn's standing
in the city was well understood; he was admired and respected as the
most imposing and influential figure in the medical profession there
represented. He held many posts of distinction, not only in the city,
but in the state, and his name at the head of an article in any
professional magazine carried weight and authority. And that he should
have chosen Burns, rather than have sent abroad for any more famous
surgeon, was to be considered an extraordinary honour indicative of a
confidence not to have been expected.
Altogether, there was more than ordinary tension observable in the
operating-room just before the appointed hour. A number of the city's
surgeons were present--Grayson, Fields, Lenhart, Stevenson--men
accustomed to see Burns at work and to recognize his ability as
uncommon.
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