"His dog. His Sealyham. Mr. Lyveden will understand."
"Oh, will he?" said the voice. "And where do I come in, Mabel?"
For a moment the fair-haired girl stared at the instrument. Then she flushed angrily and rang off….
At the other end of the line Lord Pomfret replaced his receiver with a hideous leer.
The superintendent returned to the hospital.
"Did you speak to him?" said Valerie.
"No, Miss French. He was out. I had to leave a message."
Valerie rose to her feet.
Observing her movement, the Irish terrier rose also and got shakily upon his legs. The effort set him coughing again, poor fellow, and he had to submit to the paroxysm before he could wag his tail. How stiffly this moved, his mistress, whose eyes were full of tears, did not remark. Nor did she notice the suggestion of impotence about his hindquarters. With her practised eye, the fair-haired girl noticed both symptoms and bit her lip.
Valerie caressed her favourite and turned to a grey-headed kennel-man who had just entered the room.