Чужак в чужой стране

           "Wearemakingprogress,aren’twe?Youkeepgrowingstronger,that’sthespirit!ButImustgonow-Ijuststoppedintosayhello."

           Hisexpressionchangedinstantlytodistress."Donotgo!"

           "Oh,butImust!"

           Hecontinuedtolookwoebegone,thenaddedwithtragiccertainty,"Ihavehurtedyou.Ididnotknow."

           "Hurtme?Oh,no,notatall!ButImustgo-andquickly!"

           Hisfacewaswithoutexpression.Hestatedratherthanasked,"Takemewithyou,mybrother."

           "What?Oh,Ican’t.AndImustgo,atonce.Look,don’ttellanyonethatIwasinhere,please!"

           "Nottellthatmywaterbrotherwashere?"

           "Yes.Don’ttellanyone.Uh,I’lltrytocomeback,Ireallywill.Youbeagoodboyandwaitanddon’ttellanyone."

           Smithdigestedthis,lookedserene."Iwillwait.Iwillnottell."

           "Good!"Jillwonderedhowthedevilshepossiblycouldgetbackintoseehim-shecertainlycouldn’tdependonDr.Brushhavinganotherconvenientcaseoftrots.Sherealizednowthatthe"broken"lockhadnotbeenbrokenandhereyesweptaroundtothecorridordoor-andshesawwhyshehadnotbeenabletogetin.Ahandbolthadbeenscrewedtothesurfaceofthedoor,makingapasskeyuseless.Aswasalwaysthecasewithhospitals,bathroomdoorsandotherdoorsthatcouldbeboltedweresoarrangedastoopenalsobypasskey,sothatpatientsirresponsibleorunrulycouldnotlockthemselvesawayfromthenurses.