“You see, my uncle will always be an invalid, will he not?”
“Yes.”
“And can you tell approximately how long this lingering disease will last?”
“Then I understand that you want to know how soon your uncle is going to die?”
George blushed at the plain words.
“Well, not exactly that, but when I come to think, yes, doctor, that is it. Will he live long?”
“He may live for some years, but not likely. Certainly not if he is worried in any way.”
“Then he will live forever if all he needs is quiet and lack of worry, as I have taken every burden from him.”
The doctor wondered what this suave young fellow would say when he heard that the will had been changed and he had been forgotten.
“He will probably live as long as you want him to, Mr. Benson,” said the doctor, and then he went down the steps and could but think of the little daughter married to a soldier, and pondered upon the fact that she would be worth a fortune when her father should close his eyes in death.