"You are wrong, Miss Kerr. Dr. Ethridge Sterling, Junior, was in his rooms."
"I'm not! He was bending over Miss Standish. I know it. His bushy hair, his funny shoulder...."
"No, Dr. Harrison. He just nodded. Like he always does."
"I couldn't stop to. We had no more clean linen and I had to run for a bed-pan for Mrs. Witherspoon."
MacArthur's hand beat upon his desk ... hopelessly....
"Go on, Miss Kerr." His voice was like a death-knell.
"And when I came back he was gone. He had hurried off the ward while I was getting the bed-pan. And I went to Miss Standish as soon as I could. She was still asleep. And I ran to William. He was asleep. And then I started to 'phone the night supervisor, but it was time to give my medicines ... and Aunt Roenna always told us even if the building were burning down, the medical patients must have their medicines on time. So I began giving them their hypodermics. And when I could, I went to look at Miss Standish. She was still sleeping.
"And then I finished the medicines and fever charts and called in the rounds ... I forgot to mention about Dr. Sterling because the supervisor rung off so quickly ... and I had to hurry from the 'phone to give out three bed-pans. When I had finished the bed-pans I went to look at Miss Standish again and she was dead ... and so I called Aunt Roenna...."
"Why?" Dr. Harrison's word hit her like a brick.
"Then you both _expected_ Rose Standish to die, Miss Kerr?"
All of this dialogue had gone on so swiftly that the girl had failed to make her brain control her speech. It had come out ... spontaneously....
Dr. Harrison decided that this was not the time for the truth. He passed off her reply with, "What happened next?"
"I called the night supervisor and Dr. Mattus, and waited until they came. And then...."
"From that point forward we have several eye-witnesses." Dr. MacArthur interrupted. "Thank you, Miss Kerr."
"Nursing office, please. Miss Merrill, will you please come for Miss Kerr, student nurse, and put her to bed, and follow the orders given you this morning. Thank you."
The girl turned to speak and Dr. Harrison motioned to Dr. Peters to open the door. He did so, as Miss Merrill appeared.
"Before we discuss this, let's have the other witnesses," Dr. Harrison's voice was relentless. But it failed to puncture the self-righteous-I-told-you-so posture of Doctors Peters, Paton and Hoffbein.