Nor had the doctor met any one who could give him news
of the two youths over whose welfare his soul had learned to watch. Now,
when he returned to London, he found that both Valentine and Julian were
abroad. Only Rip, left in charge of Julian's servant, greeted him with
joy; Rip, whose conduct had given the first strong impulse to his wonder
and doubt about Valentine.
Doctor Levillier took up the threads of his long-forsaken practice, and
gave himself to his work while autumn closed round London. One day he
heard casually from a patient that Valentine and Julian had returned to
town. He wondered that they had not let him know: the omission seemed
curious and unfriendly.
During the day on which the news reached him he was, as usual,
busily engaged from morning till evening in the reception of
patients. His reputation was very great, and men and women thronged
his consulting-rooms. Although his rule was that nobody could ever
gain admission to him without an appointment, it was a rule made to be
broken. He never had the heart to turn any one from his door in distress,
and so it frequently happened that his working-day was prolonged by the
admission of people who unexpectedly intruded themselves upon him.
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