Dr. Gurnet laughed, then he said:
"Go back to England, study German, and await your chance. Don't play any more heavy games, don't lose your temper or try your heart, don't drink or smoke or play billiards or sit in a room with a shut window. Take plenty of good plain food and a certain amount of exercise. You are going to be needed."
Winn drew a deep breath.
"It's a funny thing," he said, turning toward the door, "but somehow I believe in you."
Dr. Gurnet shook hands with him cordially.
"In a sense, I may say," he observed, "in spite of your extremely disappointing behavior, that I return the compliment. I believe in you, Major Staines, only—" Dr. Gurnet finished the rest of the sentence after the door had shut behind his patient. "Unfortunately, I am not sure if there are quite enough of you."
CHAPTER XXIX
When the Staineses gave an entertainment it was to mark their contempt for what more sensitive people might have considered a family catastrophe.
They had given a ball a week from the day on which Dolores ran away with the groom. A boat-race had been inaugurated upon the occasion on which Winn lost his lawsuit; and some difficulty (ultimately overcome) between James and the Admiralty had resulted in a dinner followed by fireworks on the lawn.