As the faithless nurse fell back before him, he quickly lifted the patient and gently replaced the bandages. Then, by the touch of a bell, he summoned a surgeon.

“The patient seems worse,” said Nick. “I discovered that her bandage had become displaced.”

“Didn’t you notice it?” asked the surgeon, sharply, of the nurse.

“No, I didn’t,” replied the woman.

She had recovered a part of her self-command upon finding that Nick did not intend to expose her immediately.

“I can’t trust her with you again,” said the surgeon.

He summoned a nurse from the adjacent ward.

As he passed Nick he whispered:

“Is there anything wrong here?”

“I’m afraid that there is,” Nick replied.