"What is it?"

Nurse Hopkins replied not very intelligibly: "It's Eliza Rykin - that sarcoma, you know. She's got to have double injections - night and morning - morphine. Gave her the last tablet in the old tube last night on my way here, and I could swear I had the new tube in here, too."

"Look again. Those tubes are so small."

Nurse Hopkins gave a final stir to the contents of the attache case.

"No, it's not here! I must have left it in my cupboard after all! Really, I did think I could trust my memory better than that. I could have sworn I took it out with me!"

"You didn't leave the case anywhere, did you, on the way here?"

"Of course not!" said Nurse Hopkins sharply.

"Oh, well, dear," said Nurse O'Brien, "it must be all right."

"Oh, yes! The only place I've laid my case down was here in this hall, and nobody here would pinch anything! Just my memory, I suppose. But it vexes me, if you understand, Nurse. Besides, I shall have to go right home first to the other end of the village and back again." 49

Nurse O'Brien said, "Hope you won't have too tiring a'day, dear, after last night. Poor old lady. I didn't think she would last long."

"No, nor I. I dare say Doctor will be surprised!" Nurse O'Brien said with a tinge of disapproval, "He's always so hopeful about his cases."

Nurse Hopkins, as she prepared to depart, said, "Ah, he's young! He hasn't our experience." On which gloomy pronouncement she departed. III

Dr. Lord raised himself up on his toes. His sandy eyebrows climbed right up his forehead till they nearly got merged in his hair. He said in surprise, "So she's conked out - eh?"

"Yes, Doctor."

On Nurse O'Brien's tongue exact details were tingling to be uttered, but with stern discipline she waited.

Peter Lord said thoughtfully, "Conked out?" He stood for a moment thinking, then he said sharply, "Get me some boiling water." Nurse O'Brien was surprised and mystified, but true to the spirit of hospital training, hers not to reason why. If a doctor had told her to go and get the skin of an alligator she would have murmured automatically,

"Yes, Doctor," and glided obediently from the room to tackle the problem.

IV

Roderick Welman said, "Do you mean to say that my aunt died intestate - that she never made a will at all?"

50

Mr. Seddon polished his eyeglasses. He said, "That seems to be the case." Roddy said, "But how extraordinary!"

Mr. Seddon gave a deprecating cough. "Not so extraordinary as you might imagine. It happens oftener than you would think. There's a kind of superstition about it. People will think they've got plenty of time. The mere fact of making a will seems to bring the possibility of death nearer to them. Very odd - but there it is!"