"He isn't; he was only pretending!"
"That's not what Dr. Downie thought."
"Dr. Downie! What did he know!"
"He certified him."
He was backed against the front door now.
"Did you offer Heriot that alternative?"
He paused for a moment. Heriot must be at the station by now, and he had not many spare minutes before the train started.
"No, I did not," he answered.
The sympathetic widow's hand shot out; there was a smack and then a thud. The smack was caused by a momentary encounter between the hand and his spherical cheek, the thud by a meeting of his head and the door.
"You miserable creature!" she hissed.