since you would insist upon working with me, you must be saved from as
many difficulties as possible. At present, although I have not yet quite
reached the state of advising with you upon my professional
responsibilities, when my problems are human, you are the only person to
whom I can turn. Miss Blackstone is an admirable superintendent of a
hospital along the same lines that I have been a fairly successful
physician and surgeon, but when we have to deal with personal equations
we are both hopelessly unfit."

"And all this long speech, which may or may not be complimentary, leads
up to just what human equation at present?" Sonya queried.

"Can't you guess and tell me first, Sonya?" Dr. Clark demanded. "I
always feel so much better satisfied if you have noticed certain
situations yourself before I speak to you of them. Then I am convinced
that I have not made a mistake in my own sometimes faulty observations."

"I suppose at this instant you are considering the problem of Hugh
Raymond and Thea Thompson, aren't you, if problem there is in which any
outside human being has a right to interfere? No, don't interrupt me
until I finish," Sonya protested.

"I realize that you are very seriously opposed to the least personal
relation existing between any of your Red Cross nurses and physicians
and so far we have been remarkably successful. But it has been more luck
I think than my distinguished husband's objection to the possibility.
One can't arrange, when young persons are more or less intimately
associated with each other and living under the same roof, that they
always maintain a friendly and yet highly impersonal attitude. Of course
I also understand that you have great hopes for Hugh Raymond's future,
and that as he is extremely poor you would dislike to see him marry a
poor girl before his position is more assured. I also understand that
neither you nor I especially like Thea Thompson. She has rather a
curious history and is not herself an ordinary person. One thing I have
noticed. At the beginning of their acquaintance it was Thea who made an
effort to interest Hugh, since then I don't think she has been
particularly interested in him. The interest has been on his side. It is
to me rather unfortunate because Ruth Carroll might have liked Hugh,
and, oh well, I must not speak of this! All I wished to say was that
whatever our personal feeling in the matter it will be wiser, my dear
husband, for you to say nothing to H