Here a knock came at the door. It was the little doctor cheery and twinkling.
“Hullo! How’s the health to-day?”
“Better, doctor; I’ll soon be able to go back to the office.”
The doctor laughed: “If you remain in London another six months you’ll be a dead man.”
“What would you have me do?”
“Go away. Live in a warm climate. Egypt, Algeria, the Riviera.”
“And if I go away how long will I live?”
“Oh, probably sixty years.”
“Quite a difference. Well, doctor, I expect I’ll have to stick it out here. You see, I’ve no money, no friends. Even now I’m living on the charity of the firm. They’ve been awfully decent, but I can’t expect them to go on much longer.”
“Have you no relatives?”