"What time is it?" he asked.
"It is twenty minutes of ten. Is time so important to you?"
"I must get down-town before long."
"Rot! Why don't you drop your business here and now. Let things rip."
"Where 's the dog?" demanded Donaldson. The pup was out of sight. He felt strangely frightened. He got up and looked all about the room.
"Where 's he gone?" he demanded again.
Barstow grasped him by the shoulder.
"You must pull yourself together," he said seriously. "You 're heading for a worse place than the hospital."
"But where the devil has he gone? He was here a minute ago, was n't he?"
"Easy, easy," soothed Barstow. "Hold tight!"