“All I’ve got you’ll find on the shelf over the desk. Good-night!”
Being of that type of man who does his thinking before and not after a decision, Mr. Thomas Clyde arose in the morning with an untroubled mind as to his new venture in household economics. Voices from the library attracted him thither, as he came downstairs, and, entering, he beheld his guest hedged in a corner by the grandmother of the Clyde household.
“Don’t tell me, young man,” the old lady was saying, in her clear, determined voice. “You’ve not slept well for ages! I know that kind of an eye.”
“Mrs. Sharpless has been diagnosing my case, Mr. Clyde,” called the guest, with a rather wry smile.
“You stay here for a while,” said she vigorously, “and I’ll cocker you up. I don’t believe you even eat properly. Do you?”
“Maybe not,” admitted the young man. “We doctors are sometimes less wise for ourselves than for others.”
“Oh! So you’re a doctor?” asked the grandmother with a shrewd, estimating glance.
“Dr. Strong is, I hope, going to stay with us awhile,” explained her son-in-law.
“Good!” said Mrs. Sharpless. “And I’ll take care of him.”
“It’s a strong inducement,” said Dr. Strong gracefully. “But I want a little more material on which to base a decision.”