“Sir!” cried the astonished doctor.
“Yes—drinks,” pursued Mr. Miles. “It is plain language, but I am a plain man. I heard of your intemperance, and thought it unsafe—that is, dangerous—to employ you.”
“My intemperance!” ejaculated Dr. Harvey.
“Yes, sir! and I am sorry to know it. But the fact that you sometimes drink a trifle too much is now a well known fact, and is generally talked of in the village.”
“Mr. Miles,” cried the indignant doctor, “this is scandalous—it is false! Who is your authority for this report?”
“Oh, I have heard it from several mouths but I can't say exactly who is responsible for the rumour.”
And Mr. Miles went on to mention several names, as connected with the rumour, and among which was that of Mr. Query.
The indignant doctor immediately set out on a pilgrimage of investigation, going from one house to another, in search of the author of the scandal.
Nobody, however, could state where it originated, but it was universally admitted that the man from whose lips it was first heard, was Mr. Query.
Accordingly Dr. Harvey hastened to Mr. Query's house, and demanded of that gentleman what he meant by circulating such scandal.