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The King of Diamonds: A Tale of Mystery and Adventure
The King of Diamonds: A Tale of Mystery and Adventure
CHAPTER I
No. 3, Johnson's Mews
"Is there no hope, doctor?"
"Absolutely none – now."
"If she had gone to the – the workhouse infirmary – would she have lived?"
The doctor paused. The gulp before that hateful word was not lost on him. He tried professional severity, and bestowed some care on the buttoning of a glove.
"I am surprised," he said, "that an excellent woman like your mother should encourage your feelings of – er – repugnance toward – er – Confound it, boy, have you no relatives or friends?"
"No, sir. We are alone in the world."
"And hard up, eh?"
The boy dug a hand into a pocket with the stolid indifference of despair. He produced two shillings and some pennies. He picked out the silver, and the man reddened in protest.
"Don't be stupid, Philip. That is your name, is it not? When I want my fee I will ask for it. Your mother needs a nurse, wine, chicken broth. You are old enough to realize that a doctor practicing in a neighborhood like this might want such things himself and whistle for them. But in the – er – infirmary they are provided by the State."
"Would my mother have lived had she consented to be taken there a month ago?"