He would be lost in the world outside. Secondly, he had a suspicion that, once out of the way, Doctor Murchison would not hesitate to replace him by somebody else, somebody more pliable than he, less likely to oppose, even silently, the innovations which, as the representative of Doctor Edwardes, he so deeply resented.
As he sat scratching the clean white blotting paper before him with a dry pen (ink would have sullied the virgin whiteness of the pad), there came a knock at his door. Hastily he folded up Doctor Murchison’s letter and thrust it into a drawer.
“Come in,” he said.
The door opened to admit Nurse Webster, who was closely followed by Warder Jones.
Mr. Deeling slightly raised his geometrical eyebrows.
“Good morning, Mr. Deeling,” said Nurse Webster.
“Mornin’, sir,” said War
