ours—and then, from all down the corridor, from all the other rooms we had passed—there came, as I wondered, the sound of doors being unlocked and opened; and then the grumbling voices of nurses, the odd shriek. Somewhere, a bell was rung. That was the signal that meant the doctors were coming.
And I thought, after all, that I should make a far better case for myself in standing and talking quietly with Dr Christie, than in running at him in a pair of rubber boots. I moved close to my bed, putting my knee to it to keep my leg from trembling; and I felt for my hair, meaning to tidy it—forgetting, for the moment, that they had stitched it to my head. The dark nurse went off, running. The rest of us stood in silence, listening out for the sound of the doctors'' footsteps. Nurse Spiller shook her finger at me.
''You watch your filthy tongue, you trollop,'' she said.
We waited for about ten minutes, then there was a stir in the passage and Dr Christie and Dr Graves came walking very quickly into the room, their heads bent over Dr Graves''s note-book.
''Dear ladies, good morning,'' said Dr Christie, looking up. He went first to Betty. ''How are you, Betty? Good girl. You want your medicine, of course.''
He put his hand to his pocket and brought out a piece of sugar. She took it, and curtseyed.