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brown wood—‘and he would say, ‘Well my impression is—‘
then he would look at you and think suddenly ‘What is the
use?’ then he would stop and grunt again; then we would be
at the end of dinner.’
‘I am alone to-day,’ said Dick testily. ‘But I may not be
alone to-morrow. After that I’ll fold up my napkin like your
father and grunt.’
Franz waited a moment.
‘How about our patient?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know.’
‘Well, you should know about her by now.’
‘I like her. She’s attractive. What do you want me to do—
take her up in the edelweiss?’
‘No, I thought since you go in for scientific books you
might have an idea.’
‘—devote my life to her?’
Franz called his wife in the kitchen: ‘Du lieber Gott!
Bitte, bringe Dick noch ein Glas-Bier.’
‘I don’t want any more if I’ve got to see Dohmler.’
‘We think it’s best to have a program. Four weeks have
passed away—apparently the girl is in love with you. That’s
not our business if we were in the world, but here in the
clinic we have a stake in the matter.’
‘I’ll do whatever Doctor Dohmler says,’ Dick agreed.
But he had little faith that Dohmler would throw much
light on the matter; he himself was the incalculable element
involved. By no conscious volition of his own, the thing had
drifted into his hands. It reminded him of a scene in his
childhood when everyone in the house was looking for the

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