Before doing so I felt his pulse once
more, and found that the fever had entirely left him in the sudden,
unaccountable fashion which is peculiar to these malarious types of
disease.
I turned my face towards him to congratulate him upon his improvement,
and stretched out my hand at the same time to pick my gloves from the
table, with the result that I raised not only my own property, but also
the linen cloth which was arranged over some object in the centre.
I might not have noticed what I had done had I not seen an angry look
upon the invalid's face and heard him utter an impatient exclamation. I
at once turned, and replaced the cloth so promptly that I should have
been unable to say what was underneath it, beyond having a general
impression that it looked like a bride-cake.
"All right, doctor," the general said good-humouredly, perceiving how
entirely accidental the incident was. "There is no reason why you
should not see it," and stretching out his hand, he pulled away the
linen covering for the second time.
I then perceived that what I had taken for a bride-cake was really an
admirably executed model of a lofty range of mountains, whose snow-clad
peaks were not unlike the familiar sugar pinnacles and minarets.
"These are the Himalayas, or at least the Surinam branch of them," he
remarked, "showing the principal passes between India and Afghanistan.
It is an excellent model. This ground has a special interest for me,
because it is the scene of my first campaign.
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