"I hope I do not hurry you, gentlemen," he said, with the
faintest suggestion of a sneer at their hurried consultation,
"but I believe you wanted to see me at half past eleven."

"I am most awfully sorry, Doctor," said Turnbull, with ready
amiability; "I never meant to keep you waiting; but the silly
accident that has landed us in your garden may have some rather
serious consequences to our friends elsewhere, and my friend here
was just drawing my attention to some of them."

"Quite so! Quite so!" said the doctor, hurriedly. "If you really
want to put anything before me, I can give you a few moments in
my consulting-room."

He led them rapidly into a small but imposing apartment, which
seemed to be built and furnished entirely in red-varnished wood.
There was one desk occupied with carefully docketed papers; and
there were several chairs of the red-varnished wood--though of
different shape. All along the wall ran something that might have
been a bookcase, only that it was not filled with books, but with
flat, oblong slabs or cases of the same polished dark-red
consistency. What those flat wooden cases were they could form no
conception.

The doctor sat down with a polite impatience on his professional
perch; MacIan remained standing, but Turnbull threw himself
almost with luxury into a hard wooden arm-chair.

"This is a most absurd business, Doctor," he said, "and I am