to seem skeptical, and you certainly have had remarkable
success in somewhat similar cases. But it seemed to me that in advising
as I did I was holding the only safe ground. Personally I'm not in
favour of taking chances and in this case it seemed to me they were
pretty slim."

"They were."

"I did my best to assure the family that you were within your rights."

"Much obliged."

"I don't blame you for feeling broken up about it," declared the
other man, soothingly. "But we all have to learn by experience, and
conservatism is one of the hardest lessons."

An ugly light was growing in Red Pepper's eye. He got away without
further words. Only last week Van Horn had been helped out of a serious
and baffling complication by Burns himself, and no credit given to the
rescuer. From him this sort of high and mighty sympathy was particularly
hard to bear.

Around the corner he encountered Grayson. This, as it was so little to
be desired, was naturally to be expected.

"Too bad, Doctor," Grayson began, stopping to shake hands. Van Horn had
not even shaken hands. "I hoped till the last that we were all wrong and
you were right. But that heart seemed dangerously shaky to me, though I
know you didn't think so."

"I didn't."

"There was a queer factor in the case, one I felt from the first, though
I couldn't put my finger on it. It was the thing that made me advise
against operation."

"I understand."

"But of course there's no use crying over spilt milk; you did your
best," continued Grayson cheerfully. "Pretty little girl--plucky, too.
Sorry to see her go."

Burns nodded--and bolted. These Job's comforters--were they trying to
make the thing seem even more unbearable than it already was? Certainly
they were succeeding admirably. He went on about his work with
set teeth, expecting at the next turn to run into Fields. He would
undoubtedly find him at the hospital, ready to greet him with some
croaking sympathy. True to his expectations Fields met him at the door.
He himself was looking particularly prosperous and cheerful, as people
have a way of appearing to us when our trouble is root theirs.

"Good morning, Doctor." Fields shook hands, evidently trying to modify
his own demeanour of unusual good cheer over a list of patients all
safely on the road to ultimate recovery. "I want to express my regret
over the way things came out last night. Mighty pretty operation--if it
had succeeded. Sorry it didn't. Better luck n