The cheerful optimism which had made
him a very popular practitioner seemed for the moment to have deserted
him.
"Your friend is in rather a curious state of health," he said slowly. "To
tell you the truth, I scarcely know how to account for certain of his
symptoms."
I smiled.
"He seems in a very weak state," I remarked supinely.
"Is he a very old friend?" the doctor asked.
"Why do you ask that?" I inquired curiously.
"Simply because I thought that you might know something of his
disposition," the doctor answered. "Whether, for instance, he is the sort
of man who would be likely to indulge in drugs."
I shook my head.
"I cannot tell," I said.
"There is something a little peculiar about his indifference," the doctor
continued. "He answers my questions and submits to my examination, and
all the time he has the air of a man who would say, 'I could tell you
more about myself, if I would, than you could ever discover.' He has had
a magnificent constitution in his time."
"Is he likely to die?" I asked.
"Not from any symptoms that I can discover," the doctor answered.
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