"Eh bien, I will consent. I will see Franklin."

"Franklin?" I looked doubtful.

"Well, he is a doctor, is he not?"

"Yes, but - his main line is research, is it not?"

"Undoubtedly. He would not succeed, I fancy, as a general practitioner. He has not sufficiently what you call the 'side of the bed manner.' But he has the qualifications. In fact I should say that, as the films say, 'he knows his stuff better than most.' "

I was still not entirely satisfied. Although I did not doubt Franklin's ability, he had always struck me as a man who was impatient of and uninterested in human ailments. Possibly an admirable attitude for research work, but not so good for any sick persons he might attend.

However, for Poirot to go so far was a concession, and as Poirot had no local medical attendant, Franklin readily agreed to take a look at him. But he explained that if regular medical attendance was needed, a local practitioner must be called in. He could not attend the case.

Franklin spent a long time with him.

When he came out finally, I was waiting for him. I drew him into my room and shut the door.

"Well?" I demanded anxiously. Franklin said thoughtfully:"He's a very remarkable man."

"Oh! That, yes - " I brushed aside this self-evident fact. "But his health?"

"Oh! His health?" Franklin seemed quite surprised - as though I had mentioned something of no importance at all-"Oh! His health's rotten, of course." It was not, I felt, at all a professional way of putting it. And yet I had heard - from Judith - that Franklin had been one of the most brilliant students of his time. "How bad is he?" I demanded anxiously. He shot me a look. "D'you want to know?" "Of course." What did the fool think? He almost immediately told me:

"Most people," he said, "don't want to know. They want soothing syrup. They want hope. They want reassurance ladled out in driblets. And of course amazing recoveries do occur. But they won't in Poirot's case."

"Do you mean - " Again that cold hand closed round my heart. Franklin nodded.

"Oh yes, he's for it, all right. And pretty soon, I should say. I shouldn't tell you so if he hadn't authorized me to do so."

"Then - he knows."

Franklin said:

"He knows, all right. That heart of his may go out - phut - any moment. One can't say, of course, exactly when."

He paused, then he said slowly:

"From what he says, I gather he's worrying about getting something finished, something that - as he puts it - he's undertaken. D'you know about that?"

"Yes," I said. "I know."

Franklin shot me an interested glance.

"He wants to be sure of finishing off the job."

"I see."

I wondered if John Franklin had any idea of what that job was!

He said slowly:

"I hope he'll manage it. From what he said, it means a lot to him." He paused and added: "He's got a methodical mind."