oubted. Rigidly severe and
honourable, Sir Rufus would no more have countenanced wrongdoing, than
he would have admitted Dr. West again to his house, whether as doctor or
anything else, had he been guilty of it. But when Sir Rufus went away,
Dr. West attended him to the door, and they parted cordially, Sir Rufus
saying something to the effect that he was glad his visit had dispelled
the doubt arising from these unpleasing rumours, and he would recommend
Dr. West to inquire into their source, with a view of bringing their
authors to punishment. Dr. West replied that he should make it his
business to do so. Dr. West, however, did nothing of the sort; or if he
did do it, it was in strict privacy.

Jan sat one day astride on the counter in his frequent abiding-place,
the surgery. Jan had got a brass vessel before him, and was mixing
certain powders in it, preparatory to some experiment in chemistry,
Master Cheese performing the part of looker-on, his elbows, as usual, on
the counter.

"I say, we had such a start here this morning," began young Cheese, as
if the recollection had suddenly occurred to him. "It was while you had
gone your round."

"What start was that?"

"Some fellow came here, and--I say, Jan," broke off young Cheese, "did
you ever know that room had got a second entrance to it?"

He pointed to the door of the back room--a room which was used
exclusively by Dr. West. He had been known to see patients there on rare
occasions, but neither Jan nor young Cheese was ever admitted into it.
It opened with a latch-key only.

"There is another door leading into it from the garden," replied Jan.
"It's never opened. It has got all those lean-to boards piled against
it."

"Is it never opened, then?" retorted Master Cheese. "You just hear. A
fellow came poking his nose into the premises this morning, staring up
at the house, staring round about him, and at last he walks in here. A
queer-looking fellow he was, with a beard, and appeared as if he had
come a thousand miles or two, on foot. 'Is Dr. West at home?' he asked.
I told him the doctor was not at home; for, you see, Jan, it wasn't ten
minutes since the doctor had gone out. So he said he'd wait. And he went
peering about and handling the bottles; and once he took the scales up,
as if he'd like to test their weight. I kept my eye on him. I thought a
queer fellow like that might be going to walk off with some physic, like
Miss Amilly walks off the castor oil. Pr