But he was going to
play a straight bat with the country whatever happened.... He was not the
man to palm himself for what he wasn't. He would show the doctor quite
plainly what his varicose vein was like.
When Victor Crummles entered the room he was feeling a bit tired, but
courageous. He had taken another "stiffener" at the "Spread Eagle" and felt
equal to any fate. There were two doctors in the room--one sitting at a
table, the other standing by the window.
"Anything the matter with you?" said he at the table.
"Not that I know," said Victor with the air of a man who meant business.
Then, as if unwillingly dragging the truth out of himself he added, "I have
got a bit of a varicose vein, but it's hardly worth mentioning."
"Oh, don't worry about that," said the doctor. "We've got past that stage.
Now strip."
Don't worry about that! Got past that stage! What did it mean?... Well, he
had done his duty.... If there was fibrin and osseous matter in his veins
he had given them fair warning. It was the country that would suffer.
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