There was a grimsatisfaction in knowing the
worst.
In common politeness Leithen forced a show of
attention, butBlenkiron had noted his dull eyes.
Hewondered what they made of his shrunken body. He
had survived the War, when the best of hiscontemporaries had fallen in
swathes.
Spring atLaverlaw had been diviner than
ever.
Yes, he told his hostess, you are getting the kind
of face Ilike. He would not sit down and twiddle his thumbs and awaitdeath. Hes on
the John Hopkins staff and ismaking a big name for himself in lung
surgery.
Downes, waslaughing merrily at a remark of his
neighbour.
As he sat huddled in achair at the open window
Cruddock announced that a Mr.
In themorning he had visited his bankers to look
into his money affairs.
A winter followed for Leithen of steadily declining
health. He had survived the War, when the best of hiscontemporaries had fallen in
swathes.
Maybenobody has got to know the real
Francis.
He remembered,too, much that he had heard about him
from Sandy and Dick Hannay. Ihavent forgotten what you did for me when I was up
against theDelacroix bunch. And he repeated a conversation he had had withthe man
who would be the next Prime Minister. I must add, of course, that our present
knowledge maynot be final truth. Odd that that remote memory should have been
suddenly dugout of the lumber-room of the past!
Leithen looked with interest at the pleasant vital
face.
You have been akind master to me, sir, and Im proud
to have served you.
Please contact us beforehand to let us know your
plans and to work out the details.
Galliard has gone toPeru to look into some
pitchblende propositions.
Just before ten Sandy took his leave, warned by his
hosts obviousfatigue.
You have been akind master to me, sir, and Im proud
to have served you. Copyright laws are changing all over the world. He got up and
dressed, and his cold bath gave him a ghost of anappetite for breakfast. I must add,
of course, that our present knowledge maynot be final truth. His mood was the
opposite of self-pity, a feeling thathis life had been too cosseted and fur-lined.
That isnt a pleasant conclusion to come to, but its thetruth. As he thought oftheir
warm companionship he could not check a sudden wave ofregret. She wasdeeply
interested in life and very little interested in herself.
Leithen left Harley Street almost cheerfully. I
heard you five years ago at the Bar Association, Savory said. The grey eyes were
regarding him contemplatively but keenly.
He could not endure to thinkof their anxious
eyes.
Despite theseefforts, the Projects eBooks and any
medium they may be on may containDefects.
He was not talking at random, but picking his
topics.
Things are pretty insecure in the world just
now.
I heard his name for the first time a few weeks
ago.