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 the house should be bright and shining when Dr. Stewart came. She expected him around one o'clock, but it was after three when he arrived.

He didn't tell her that he had been talking to Dr. Simons. If he had, he probably would have kept Dr. Simons' greeting to himself: "My God, Stewart, I'm glad you're back. That Collins woman! I don't want to deliver her. If her baby's over two pounds it'll be a battle. God, Stewart, I'm glad to see you."

Dr. Stewart had scoffed at his colleague's excitement, had laid him a little bet, had advised him quite seriously not to worry so much over the people he saw and to have some confidence in himself. Dr. Simons reminded his friend very much of an exposed nerve. Everything that came within his range of feeling hurt him, made him throb with pain and anxiety.

"Don't worry over Mrs. Collins," Dr. Stewart had laughed.

"I shan't," Dr. Simons returned, "now that you're here; but if you hadn't come, I'd have probably been buried the same day they bury her."

On the whole, Dr. Stewart didn't consider it prudent to repeat this conversation to Dot.