t the
same thing might possibly be true of the white-faced lads before him.

'Bless my soul!' he exclaimed testily. 'How many _are_ there of you?
There's a couple at every corner. How can you expect your sister to get
better if you hang about the place and ask questions at the top of your
voice? There's--there's an atmosphere of nervous sentiment all over the
house that's enough to ruin any case.'

Wilfred was dumbfounded, and stared stupidly. But Christopher suddenly
found his tongue, and, being Christopher, he found it sarcastically.

'Counting Jill, there are only six all together,' he said, peering up at
the irritated young man through his spectacles, 'so you won't meet any
more.'

'I don't care how many there are of you,' grumbled Dr. Hurst, flinging
on his coat. 'Keep out of her way, that's all--and mine too.'

'You may be sure we'll do that, if we can,' retorted Wilfred, recovering
his courage. 'Only, you haven't told us yet how she is.'

'You seem to forget she's our sister, and we're beastly cut up about her,'
added Kit, glumly.

'She's not a rotten bacteria, either,' said Wilfred, in a vicious
undertone which the Doctor fortunately missed.

Dr. Hurst felt a little bit ashamed of himself, and was more cross than
ever. 'There, there! She's better, of course,' he muttered, pushing past
his questioners. Then he saw the sleeping Robin curled up in front of the
stove, and he glanced back at the tired faces of the other two. 'Best
thing you can do is to go straight to bed,' he advised, jamming his hat
down on his head. 'Best thing for the case, too.'

Kit smiled at him indulgently. 'Let them go to bed who have beds,' he
remarked. 'I've only got an arm-chair.'

The Doctor fled discomfited, and shut the front door in their faces. He
did not understand boys, and he did not like them, and he would not have
minded if he had never had to meet another boy as long as he lived. In
a very few moments, however, he came to the conclusion that although boys
were pretty bad, girls could beat them easily, with several points to
spare.

His man was walking the cob up and down outside, and the trap was not in
sight when Dr. Hurst shut the front door behind him. The occurrence was
particularly unfortunate, for as he stood waiting on the steps the whole
of the junior hockey team came strolling round the corner of the house.
This in itself was sufficiently embarrassing to the young man who stood
there; and he hailed the app