24 LIFE AND WORK OF DR. A. A. MURPHREE

school than those he had taught back in the country. An oppor-
tunity came to teach in a high school at Cleburn, Texas. Mur-
phree had never been so far away from home. The idea of
going to Texas, a great, expanding state of the southwest, ap-
pealed to him strongly. He accepted the position and Septenm
her found him ready in that small western city.
 Tragedy in the shape of a breakdown in health, met him
before the term was over. The dread typhoid fever laid hold
of him and brought him low in what proved seriously close
to becoming a fatal illness. He wired his brother Walter and
his brother Ethridge as to his condition. The latter brother
was then in Paducah, Kentucky. He went at once to Cleburn
and found a deplorable condition. Two doctors in the town,
bitter rivals, were both attempting to treat Albert and neither
was proving effective, perhaps through disagreement as to
what should be done. Ethridge promptly called them together


and cam
brother s
 After
covered.
tioned, h
and thin.
his native
teacher V


hassee.


e to an agreement with them in regard to how his
should be treated.
many weeks of suffering, Albert rallied and re-
Before the sickness he was a robust, well propor-
earty young man. The disease left him emaciated
 He decided, if possible, to secure a school back in
e state, or nearby. Word came that a mathematics
vas needed at the West Florida Seminary in Talla-


The job was offered Murphree, and he accepted.


rl ( I 4*