Just then a nurse, eyeing Lester with uneasy speculation, edged quietly
into the room. "You'll have to leave now, Mr. Holmes," she said. "The
doctors are waiting for you."
"Doctors?" Lester said, then decided to let it go; the hospital had
became a dark and mysterious place. He leaned down and kissed Ginny
lightly on the lips. "Get some rest, dear," he murmured.
* * * * *
There were six doctors in the little office, an assorted half dozen of
varying sizes and ages. The white-coated oath-taker with whom Lester
had shared the cryptic conversation in the hall presided over the
gathering from behind a desk at the far side of the room. The others
sat in chairs that had been arranged against the walls. All of them
eyed Lester with something like grave wonder as he moved forward and
took his seat in front of the desk. Lester looked hopefully from one to
the other, then cleared his throat. The small doctor to his left jumped.
"I realize," Lester said, "that I'm not acquainted with hospital
routine. This is the first time...."
"Of course, Mr. Holmes," the pinkish doctor put in quickly, with a
sort of reverent horror. "And I must confess that procedures have
necessarily been a trifle irregular in this case...."
"Case?" Lester said. "What's wrong, doctor? Why won't you tell me?"
The doctor folded his pale, slender hands before him with intricate
care. "Mr. Holmes," he said gently, "have you ever taken an I.Q. test?"
Lester stared at him blankly for a moment. He was conscious of a
sinking sensation, much as though he were a cake in an oven and someone
had slammed a door somewhere. "Yes, I have," he said cautiously. "I
don't remember the score exactly. They said I was average. Is there
something wrong with my son, doctor?"
Again the doctor avoided a direct reply. "How about your wife, has she
ever had an intelligence test?"
"I don't know," Lester answered truthfully. "She's mentioned several
times that she only graduated from school by the skin of her teeth. But
what has that got to do with...."
"I wonder, Mr. Holmes, if you'd be willing to submit to an extensive
examination and observation? It might take about a month or so, I'm
afraid. You work for a bank, don't you?"