What was the delicate and difficult operation to him?
What was anything or anybody that stood in the way of succor for his imperiled wife?
He could not pause to think of others' needs or danger.
Doctor Hillhouse had to decide quickly, and his decision was on the side where pressure was strongest.

He could not deny Mr.Voss.
He found the poor distressed mother in a condition of utter prostration.

For a little while after coming out of the swoon into which her first wild fears had thrown her, she had been able to maintain a tolerably calm exterior.

But the very effort to do this was a draught on her strength, and in a few hours, under the continued suspense of waiting and hearing nothing from her boy, the overstrained nerves broke down again, and she sunk into a condition of half-conscious suffering that was painful to see.
For such conditions medicine can do but little.

All that Doctor Hillhouse ventured to prescribe was a quieting draught.