Into the smoking room
he went, shut the door carefully behind him, and made for the window. A
grey and windy prospect met his eyes, but they scarcely glanced at it.
Mr. Hobhouse had something else to think of. Twice or thrice he pulled
the blind up and down, and minutely examined the string and the little
brass pulley.
"That blind certainly does not come down at a touch," he said to himself,
"and there is not a sign of its having been repaired within the last few
years. Therefore it did not drop accidentally six months ago."
IV
THE TEST
That afternoon, as the weather had cleared somewhat, Dr. Rendall
proposed walking over to his cousin's house and presenting Mr. Hobhouse
to the laird and his daughter. This ordeal had to be undergone sooner or
later, so I decided I had better fall in with his suggestion and get it
over at once. Besides, it was an obvious part of my programme to make a
great deal of outdoor exercise a principal feature of Mr. Hobhouse's
cure, and I felt bound to agree at once with any proposal to take a
walk. We had taken the precaution, by the way, of telling the doctor
beforehand of my limp (caused by a motoring accident when I was at the
wheel in a condition I should not have been in) and assuring him that
the surgeon encouraged exercise to complete the cure.
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