"Very well. Did you tell Staffer what the doctor said?"
"I wasn't quite as frank with him as I've been with you; one isn't proud of being a lame duck. Still, I imagine he has a pretty accurate notion of how things are with me."
"Then he ought to pull you up; he has the power."
"That's doubtful. I don't think you're quite fair to Staffer. I might have got a stepfather of a very different kind."
"It might have been better if you had," Andrew dryly rejoined.
Dick flushed.
"I wish you'd leave Staffer alone; I won't have him run down."
"I didn't mean to run him down," Andrew said.
"Well, perhaps you didn't consciously. You'd try to conquer your prejudices, but you're antagonistic."