His interview with Minnie was very brief, for the nurse sent him out
without ceremony, and followed him downstairs.
“Mr. Petersen,” she said, “I’m going to telephone for the doctor.”
The two men looked at her in alarm.
“Is she worse?” asked Mr. Petersen.
“She’ll soon be better,” answered the nurse, with a smile.
Mr. Petersen caught her arm as she was going.
“You don’t mean--it’s beginning now?” he asked. “I thought--three weeks
more at least----?”
The nurse smiled again.
“I shouldn’t be surprised!” she said.
Mr. Petersen felt utterly frightened and helpless. He looked about in
vain for comfort, saw only the very professional nurse, and Alec, more
alarmed than himself.
“Will it be--bad?” he asked the nurse, but she went hurrying upstairs
again. He followed her, but wasn’t allowed to come into the room.
“You’ll only make her nervous,” the nurse told him, severely. “You must
be sensible now, Mr. Petersen, and not worry me. I’ve got my hands
full!”
So he went down again and met the doctor coming in. He, too, had the
professional cheerfulness so difficult to endure.
“Take a drink,” he advised, “and go out for a walk. We don’t need
_you_!”
He went back into his study once more, and was surprised to see the
brother still there. He had forgotten all about him. He poured out a
drink for him, too, and sat down, very glad to have someone with him. He
became fictitiously cheerful to hide his anguish. And every time he
heard a footstep overhead, his heart bounded horribly.
He poured out a second glass of brandy for each of them, and was sorry
to see the misery on the face of the other, not to be dispelled by many
drinks. He tried to console him, said, after all, it was a perfectly
natural thing--a beautiful thing. But didn’t believe it himself. There
wasn’t--there couldn’t be beauty in the bestial agony of a poor little
woman. It was _natural_ enough, natural as an owl crunching the bones of
a rabbit....
Suddenly there was a long, horrible groan from upstairs. Mr. Petersen
turned pale, and reached blindly for the brandy.
“My God!” he muttered. “This is----” But was cut short by a frantic
clutch at his arm. The brother stood swaying like a reed; suddenly
collapsed and fell at his feet unconscious.