"I thought of that, but I'm not convinced." He shook his head in exasperation. "Damn it, man, there's something queer in this whole thing ... and I can't put my finger on it!"
"What does the bug do to people, aside from the usual stuff?"
"They all get a sharp attack of the flu, lasting three or four days. The picture is typical as a rule, but on the mild side. Some of them act as if they had the mumps too."
"H'm, that's nice," I said. "Has there been much orchitis in the male patients?"
"Who else could get it?" he gibed. "Now that you mention it, I believe there have been some cases," he said drily, "but I've been more concerned with organic chemistry than with organs. By the way, how was your holiday?"
"The sly old dog," I thought. "He probably figures I've been having myself a time with Pat." Out loud I answered, "Just fine, Sir." I turned to go out. "Guess I'd better get started back to work. At least I got a good rest."
"Really, John, you call that a rest?" He was still chuckling as I shut the door behind me.
I changed to a white coat in my own small office. There was no definite job assigned to me now and I had no classes to teach this semester. I rambled around the office for a while, straightened out my desk and then decided to go down to Records and look up the case histories of the flu patients. It was partly idle curiosity but I knew that, sooner or later, the Old Man would have me working on it.
The girls in Records were full of questions about my vacation. That Pat and I were practically engaged was no secret, and the fact that someone had seen us together on my sloop was providing plenty of gossip.