"Nothing; and I dabbed the place and put a bit o' black court-plaister on his ear, and I don't hardly believe he even knew of it." "I'm not surprised," said cook indignantly. "Them two read and read till they're a pair of regular old scribums. Anyone would think they were old ancient men instead of being--How old is master?" "Six years older than me." "And you're six-and-twenty." "Yes." "And a fine, handsome man too." "Thankye, cook," said Sam, smiling. "Get out! I don't mean you. Master. How old's the professor?" "Oh, he's thirty-five," said Sam, in rather a disappointed tone. "And looks it," said cook. "Well, I wish he'd go abroad again to his nasty grave-digging in the sands, and then praps master would have decent people to dine with him. Oh! There's the front bell." Cook dived down into the lower regions, and Sam opened the folding inner doors to go and answer the street door bell, frowning the while. "Wanted for some patient," he muttered sourly. "I do wish people would have their accidents at decent times." CHAPTER TWO. "NEWS! NEWS!" On the other side of the dining-room door Doctor Morris, a thoughtful-looking man of goodly presence, and the better looking for a calm ignorance of his being handsome, was seated opposite to his thin, yellow-skinned, and rather withered, nervous-looking old college friend, both partaking slowly of the good things the doctor's domestic had prepared for them, as if it came perfectly natural to them to follow out the proverbial words of the old Greek philosopher who bade his pupils, "Live not to eat, but eat to live." As Sam had truthfully said, they had been talking very learnedly about their investigations in the particular branches of science which they had followed up since their old school and college days when they had begun their friendship, in company with another companion, missing now; and the doctor had said, with a far-off look in his large dark eyes-- "No, Fred, old chap, I don't want to settle down here yet, because I know how it will be. Once I regularly begin, the practice will completely swallow me, as it did the dear old dad. People came from far and wide to be treated by him, and he had hardly an hour to call his own. Of course I shall be glad to do the same, for it's a duty to one's fellow-creatures; but I want to leave it all to old Stanley for another two or three years while I travel and see more of the world. I should like to go with some army if I could." "Yes," said his guest, "I see; as a volunteer surgeon." "Exactly; the experience and confidence I should gain would be so great. After that, here is my place, and I could relieve Stanley till he retires, which he says he shall do as soon as I like to take the old practice fully in hand."