unfitness?”
“You'd have to have a scientific man as judge,” said Luke. “Someone with an unbiased but highly specialized mind - a doctor, for instance. Come to that, I think you'd be a pretty good judge yourself. Doctor.”
“Of unfitness to live?”
“Yes.”
Doctor Thomas shook his head. “My job is to make the unfit fit. Most of the time it's an uphill job, I'll admit.”
“Now, just for the sake of argument,” said Luke. “Take a man like the late Harry Carter -”
Doctor Thomas said sharply, “Carter? You mean the landlord of the Seven Stars?”
“Yes, that's the man. I never knew him myself, but my cousin, Miss Conway, was talking about him. He seems to have been a really thoroughgoing scoundrel.”
“Well,” said the other, “he drank, of course. Ill-treated his wife, bullied his daughter. He was quarrelsome and abusive, and had had a row with most people in the place.”
“In fact, the world is a better place without him?”
“One might be inclined to say so, I agree.”
“In fact, if somebody had given him a push and sent him into the river instead of his kindly electing to fall in of his own accord, that person would have been acting in the public interest?”
Doctor Thomas said dryly, “These methods that you advocate - did you put them into practice in the - Mayang Straits, I think you said?”
Luke laughed. “Oh, no, with me it's theory, not practice.”
“No, I do not think you are the stuff of which murderers are made.”
“Tell me - it interests me - have you ever come across a man you believed might be a murderer?”
Doctor Thomas said sharply, “Really, what an extraordinary question!”
“Is it? After all, a doctor must come across so many queer characters. He would be better able to detect, for instance, the signs of homicidal mania in an early stage, before it's noticeable.”
Thomas said rather irritably, “You have the general layman's idea of a homicidal maniac - a man who runs amok with a knife, a man more or less foaming at the mouth. Let me tell you, a homicidal lunatic may be the most difficult thing on this earth to spot. To all seeming he may be exactly like everyone else - a man, perhaps, who is easily frightened, who may tell you, perhaps, that he has enemies. No more than that. A quiet inoffensive fellow.”
“Is that really so?”
“Of course it's so. A homicidal lunatic often kills, as he thinks, in self-defense. But, of course, a lot of killers are ordinary sane fellows like you and me.”
“Doctor, you alarm me! Fancy if you should discover later that I have five or six quiet little killings to my credit.”
Doctor Thomas smiled. “I don't think it's very likely, Mr. Fitzwilliam.”
“Don't you? I'll return the compliment. I don't believe you've got five or six murders to your credit either.”
Doctor Thomas said cheerfully, “You're not counting my professional failures.”
Both men laughed. Luke got up and said good-bye. “I'm afraid I've taken up a lot of your time,” he said apologetically.
“Oh, I'm not busy. Wychwood is a pretty healthy place. It's a pleasure to have a talk with someone from the outside world.”
“I was wondering -” said Luke and stopped.
“Yes?”
“Miss Conway told me, when she sent me to you, what a very - well, what a first-class man you were. I wondered if you didn't feel rather buried down here? Not much opportunity for talent.”
“Oh, general practice is a good beginning. It's valuable experience.”
“But you won't be content to stay in a rut all your life. Your late partner. Doctor Humbleby, was an unambitious fellow, so I've heard - quite content with his practice here. He'd been here for a good many years, I believe.”
“Practically a lifetime.”
“He was sound but old-fashioned, so I hear.”
Doctor Thomas said, “At times he was difficult. Very suspicious of modern innovations, but a good example of the old school of physicians.”
“Left a very pretty daughter, I'm
“You'd have to have a scientific man as judge,” said Luke. “Someone with an unbiased but highly specialized mind - a doctor, for instance. Come to that, I think you'd be a pretty good judge yourself. Doctor.”
“Of unfitness to live?”
“Yes.”
Doctor Thomas shook his head. “My job is to make the unfit fit. Most of the time it's an uphill job, I'll admit.”
“Now, just for the sake of argument,” said Luke. “Take a man like the late Harry Carter -”
Doctor Thomas said sharply, “Carter? You mean the landlord of the Seven Stars?”
“Yes, that's the man. I never knew him myself, but my cousin, Miss Conway, was talking about him. He seems to have been a really thoroughgoing scoundrel.”
“Well,” said the other, “he drank, of course. Ill-treated his wife, bullied his daughter. He was quarrelsome and abusive, and had had a row with most people in the place.”
“In fact, the world is a better place without him?”
“One might be inclined to say so, I agree.”
“In fact, if somebody had given him a push and sent him into the river instead of his kindly electing to fall in of his own accord, that person would have been acting in the public interest?”
Doctor Thomas said dryly, “These methods that you advocate - did you put them into practice in the - Mayang Straits, I think you said?”
Luke laughed. “Oh, no, with me it's theory, not practice.”
“No, I do not think you are the stuff of which murderers are made.”
“Tell me - it interests me - have you ever come across a man you believed might be a murderer?”
Doctor Thomas said sharply, “Really, what an extraordinary question!”
“Is it? After all, a doctor must come across so many queer characters. He would be better able to detect, for instance, the signs of homicidal mania in an early stage, before it's noticeable.”
Thomas said rather irritably, “You have the general layman's idea of a homicidal maniac - a man who runs amok with a knife, a man more or less foaming at the mouth. Let me tell you, a homicidal lunatic may be the most difficult thing on this earth to spot. To all seeming he may be exactly like everyone else - a man, perhaps, who is easily frightened, who may tell you, perhaps, that he has enemies. No more than that. A quiet inoffensive fellow.”
“Is that really so?”
“Of course it's so. A homicidal lunatic often kills, as he thinks, in self-defense. But, of course, a lot of killers are ordinary sane fellows like you and me.”
“Doctor, you alarm me! Fancy if you should discover later that I have five or six quiet little killings to my credit.”
Doctor Thomas smiled. “I don't think it's very likely, Mr. Fitzwilliam.”
“Don't you? I'll return the compliment. I don't believe you've got five or six murders to your credit either.”
Doctor Thomas said cheerfully, “You're not counting my professional failures.”
Both men laughed. Luke got up and said good-bye. “I'm afraid I've taken up a lot of your time,” he said apologetically.
“Oh, I'm not busy. Wychwood is a pretty healthy place. It's a pleasure to have a talk with someone from the outside world.”
“I was wondering -” said Luke and stopped.
“Yes?”
“Miss Conway told me, when she sent me to you, what a very - well, what a first-class man you were. I wondered if you didn't feel rather buried down here? Not much opportunity for talent.”
“Oh, general practice is a good beginning. It's valuable experience.”
“But you won't be content to stay in a rut all your life. Your late partner. Doctor Humbleby, was an unambitious fellow, so I've heard - quite content with his practice here. He'd been here for a good many years, I believe.”
“Practically a lifetime.”
“He was sound but old-fashioned, so I hear.”
Doctor Thomas said, “At times he was difficult. Very suspicious of modern innovations, but a good example of the old school of physicians.”
“Left a very pretty daughter, I'm
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