During my early days in country practice, I found the transition from student to veterinary surgeon, although abrupt, not as obvious as I might have expected. This factor was due in some measure to the change in circumstances occasioned by Mr Hacker Senior’s unfortunate demise and the pressure of work that consequently ensued. Such that I had little time to be truly aware of what was happening. But even despite this unfortunate turn of fate, there would have been more than enough to occupy my mind in the absolute diversity of the lifestyle.
Newborn lawyers, doctors, teachers and engineers commence their careers in regulated circumstances and within predictable surroundings of offices, wards, classrooms or building sites. But for a young vet in country practice, places of work can range from windswept hills and river pastures to dark, animal-warm cowsheds, stately homes or even gypsy encampments; and there are demands, not only upon academic knowledge, but upon physical stamina, ingenuity, diplomacy and above all, one’s sense of humour.
In my first three weeks, I dealt with what seemed like a multitude of species and breeds of varying size, colour and condition, and, as well as my patients, I also encountered a glorious mix of humanity, as varied as the stock I treated. There was, however, one marked difference between the animals and those who owned or cared for them, for while the former’s colour, shape and breeding capacity were far more diverse than my own species, they could not talk. I soon realised this obvious difference put vets in a very special position when it came to communication.
‘Talk, touch and treat them as equal,’ C. J. Pink had said, and how right he was; except that with practically every animal I saw, there was a human spokesman or spokeswoman, and it was often this third party who presented the greatest problem.
Take Miss Millicent for example.
She was a tall, angular, spinster lady, who came to the surgery one evening carrying a friendly little tortoiseshell cat, called Sybil.
‘She doesn’t seem to be quite herself,’ commented Miss Millicent, placing Sybil upon the examination table. ‘She seems rather dreamy.’
Now, ‘dreamy’ was not a clinical description of a symptom, but I understood what she meant.
‘She eats extremely well, in fact better than she has ever done, and she does everything else quite properly. But lately she doesn’t seem so active and sleeps a lot.’
The little cat purred contentedly as I passed my stethoscope over her soft coat. Ears, eyes, mouth were perfect. There were no joint swellings or pain in any part of her body and her temperature was normal. Miss Millicent was right, she was just ‘dreamy’.
I gently palpated her abdomen and she whisked her tail, as if disapproving of my familiarity. Then my fingers probed a little deeper and I found the answer. ‘She’s pregnant,’ I announced confidently.
‘Impossible,’ replied Miss Millicent, equally confidently.
There was a moment when the conversation could have developed into a ‘she is’, ‘she isn’t’ ding-dong pantomime situation, but I avoided this by lowering my tone and adjusting the stethoscope around my neck to assert my professional authority.
‘She is, Miss Millicent. Definitely,’ I assured. ‘I can feel her distended womb. It’s quite distinct. There are at least three and possibly more.’
Miss Millicent looked more puzzled than shocked.
‘But she’s never been out,’ she wailed.
‘Perhaps she slipped through an open window,’ I suggested.
‘I am very careful about windows; wire netting guards each one. The house is very secure. It has to be when you live alone.’
‘A door open,’ I volunteered.
‘I am very careful about doors,’ she replied adamantly. ‘And the porch is double locked.’
The subject of the investigation curled herself up unconcernedly.
‘Impossible,’ continued Miss Millicent. ‘Impossible.’
I studied the snoozing bundle on the table. ‘Any other cats in the house?’ I enquired, a trifle vaguely.
Miss Millicent leaned forward and picked up Sybil, cuddling the little tortoiseshell to her flat bosom. ‘Only George,’ she replied, rubbing her cheek across the soft fur. ‘But he’s her brother — and he wouldn’t do a thing like that!’
Certainly, I was beginning to find that, when speaking on behalf of their pets, owners tended to humanise their companions regarding symptoms, feelings and, in Miss Millicent’s case, even morals.
But there were occasions when a case history was presented in more realistic terms and still gave rise to pitfalls, as I discovered when I went to Joe Price’s farm at Hill Morton, to carry out a Tuberculin Test.
In the fifties, the Tuberculosis Eradication Scheme was in full swing, in an attempt to eliminate the insidious disease that was rife in both cattle and human populations.
‘A disease of great antiquity,’ I remembered Professor Bardsley booming during lectures at Glasgow. ‘Found in the mummies of Ancient Egypt, it is a disease of community life, disseminated from the centres of ancient culture around the Mediterranean, hence to Europe, the New World — and you!’
Bovine Tuberculosis at the time affected about one third of all cattle in varying degrees. As well as causing an incurable wasting condition in livestock, it was transmissible to humans through unpasteurised milk and, for the latter reason alone, its eradication was of paramount importance.
The diagnosis and elimination of infected cattle was carried out by means of the single, comparative intradermal sensitivity test, otherwise known as the ‘lump test’. This entailed injecting a minute dose of an extract of tuberculosis germs into the neck skin of the animal. The tuberculin, as it was termed, would not cause disease, but stimulated a local reaction which showed up as a swelling. In three days the swelling was measured with calipers, and if it exceeded certain limits, the animal was classed as a reactor and slaughtered.
Two types of tuberculosis extract were used, one derived from poultry germs, called avian, and the other from human germs, called mammalian. The avian was not of serious consequence, being used as a control and given about two inches above the mammalian injection. If the top lump was therefore larger than the bottom, the cow was cleared. So a large top lump was vital to passing the test, and so important that there was often some jiggery-pokery to ensure that it came up to size. Because of its avian origin, there were tales of eggs being fed by the bucketful to cows before testing, and even rumours of more unsavoury poultry derivatives being added to the food, in the hope of ensuring a good top lump.
McBean had told me of one test he carried out, where the condition of the cows pointed very much to a generalised infection with tuberculosis. But the first test showed them to be all clear, for at the reading the top lumps on every cow were very much larger than the bottom ones.
‘I thought there was something queer,’ McBean explained, ‘For the skin was greasy and I could whiff paraffin in the air.’ Two clear tests were necessary at an interval of one month, before the herd could be accepted by the Ministry, and on the second test, without informing the farmer, McBean reversed the injections. This would make no difference to the result, other than that the bottom lump was now the control and the top, the failing reaction. At the reading three days later, the top lumps were again the larger and the smell of paraffin still in the air.
‘When I told him they had all failed, it was then that he came clean, so he did,’ explained McBean. ‘The old varmint was injecting paraffin over the area where I had done my test, to make sure it would swell and I would pass them. Not all the crooks are inside prison.’
But Joe Price was of a different mould and as honest as they came. The road to his farm was ancient and well worn and the little Ford’s hard-sprung chassis took a severe buffeting.
Joe was waiting on the yard to greet me. A stocky figure, hands deep in the pockets of his patched, brown stock coat. I introduced myself and commented on the change in the weather.
‘’Tis cold enough for a walking stick,’ he said, roaring with laughter at his quip. ‘Don’t doubt you’ll need a hand with the clerking,’ he continued. ‘Our Ann can see to that.’
Indeed, it was a great help to have someone to record the identification numbers tattooed in the cow’s ears and take down the skin measurements, before I gave the injection. And to cap it all, Joe’s daughter was really something special; not that she said a lot, but who cared when she had blonde hair, blue eyes and a figure that did all the talking.
The testing went extremely well and by 11.30 we were finished.
‘Go along to the house and make a cup of tea for the vet an’ me, m’dear,’ said Joe to his daughter as I cleared up my tack. ‘Us’ll be in, shortly.’
I watched her wiggle across the yard and into the kitchen, and as the door closed, old Joe lowered his voice and, in a confidential tone, said:
‘Vet, I’d be most obliged if you’d ’ave a look at Ann’s arse afore you go.’
I stood rooted to the ground as medical ethics, in confusion, raced through my mind. In my wildest dreams, I had never expected anything like that, even though I was very deep in the countryside. And as I followed him to the house I wondered, ‘Should I?’ ‘Could I?’ ‘What would the Min. of Ag. say?’
As we reached the kitchen door, I felt my palms becoming slightly moist, but instead of halting, Joe carried on and turned down a narrow path at the side of the house. There, confronting us, was a stable and, with its head hanging over the door, stood a chestnut hunter with a white blaze.
‘Ann’s arse,’ announced Joe. ‘I think ’e’s sprained a fetlock!’
So much for human involvement in animal matters, such things that degree courses at university in veterinary medicine and surgery don’t cover. Indeed, there are occasions when all the learning is plainly inadequate and the demands not purely academic, but bordering upon the emotional. ‘There is no substitute for experience.’ Who said it? It could have been Pink, Bardsley or McBean — certainly it was someone who found out the hard way.
Experience is a wisdom derived from the changes and trials of life, an event or course of events by which one is affected. But when the Reverend Gladstone asked for his dog to be put to sleep, for me it was more than just an experience; what it was, I am still not too clear.
Saint Mary’s Church, Brentdor, was a building of red and grey sandstone standing upon rising ground, just outside the village. Obscured by tall elm and sycamore, it was not readily visible unless one took the winding lane that led to it and, apart from the vicarage, nowhere else. The vicarage itself, a tall plain dwelling in similar stone with a slate roof and long, narrow windows, lay beyond and was even more obscured by a high hedge of fir trees. The lane terminated in a small turning area, devoid of tarmac and muddy from the previous night’s rain.
That morning, I left the car, unlatched the sinking wooden gate and took the path that trailed through an unkempt shrubbery, the foliage hanging heavily in the cold, damp air. The path gave way to a clearing that had once been a lawn, but now resembled a lumpy cow pasture, with clumps of couch grass and dead thistles. The straggling weeds spread beyond the confines of the rough sward, invading flower beds that must have known more orderly growth in bygone days.
As I made for the front door, I felt engulfed in an air of desolation and sadness.
The bell pull responded jerkily and, after an interval during which I imagined wires and rusty wheels wearily transmitting my call, a bell rang faintly within the depths of the house. I waited, clutching my case in a silence broken only by the heavy drips falling irregularly from the sodden leaves. I was on the point of giving the round black knob a second tug, when I was aware of a shuffling sound and, with the drawing of the bolt, the door juddered open.
White hair was the only distinguishing feature, the rest of the frail figure in shabby clerical black and faded collar being hard to distinguish against the drab background, but there was no doubt it was the Reverend Gladstone.
‘You’ve come to see Tess,’ he said, quietly. A gentle but sad smile played upon his drawn features and he shivered slightly. ‘Come along in,’ he beckoned. ‘She’s in the study.’
I followed the aged cleric across the gloomy hallway. Dark oil paintings in heavy gilt frames hung from the walls and, as I passed a stand laden with an untidy mix of coats and a collection of walking sticks, I noticed some lady’s hats hanging at the side. The Reverend Gladstone, sensing my observation, said without turning: ‘My dear wife passed away last year, after much suffering. Sadly missed,’ he added, shaking his head. ‘Sadly missed.’
Turning, he entered the study, a small room with a distinctly musty odour, which I suspected came from a sagging red curtain partly covering the door. More red curtains hung limply on either side of a box window, in the small bay of which stood a rexine sofa, piled high with yellowing newspapers. A glass-doored bookcase with cracked panes, an armchair and two stools stood formally against the other walls, while the centre of the room was occupied by a large mahogany desk littered with books, papers, pens and inks, sweet tins and a collection of bric-a-brac that appeared to have lain undisturbed for some considerable time.
There was only one picture on the wall, fixed over the empty fireplace. It was quite narrow and showed Jesus holding a lantern, emerging from what appeared to be a shrubbery, not unlike the one outside. Beneath it were the words: ‘Behold, I am the Light of the World’.
The Reverend Gladstone shuffled his carpet-slippered feet towards the desk and leaned heavily upon it. He appeared to have difficulty in getting his breath and, when he did, he gave a slight cough and then pointed to the floor behind him. There, lying prostrate before a one-bar electric fire, greying muzzle resting upon a green pillow, her body partly covered by a patchwork blanket, was an aged Red Setter.
‘Tess,’ said the old man affectionately. ‘My Tess.’
Putting my case on the floor, I knelt beside the old dog and gently drew back the blanket. Though her coat still shone, she was painfully thin and her flanks slack and hollow. Laying my hand upon her chest I felt her heart thumping irregularly and her breathing, though not distressed, was very shallow.
‘She started to falter two days ago,’ he began. ‘Until then she was eating quite well. Smaller meals than she used to, of course, and she took things a lot slower. Like we all must do,’ he sighed. ‘For some time she’s been drinking more water than usual and I got some tablets for her kidneys. But she is fifteen and I became resigned that nothing could be done.’
Tess lay perfectly still and relaxed, quite oblivious to the discussion, but to me, it was obvious that her resistance was failing fast.
‘I’m afraid that, for Tess, things are wearing out. Nothing lasts for ever,’ I said.
‘How right you are, young man,’ replied the Reverend Gladstone. ‘How right you are.’ He moved unsteadily over to the armchair and, supporting himself upon its side, sat down. ‘Fifteen years,’ he continued, and his face took on another smile, but this time there was a more obvious thread of happiness in it, as memories of Tess and her companionship came flooding back.
He told me how, with his wife, he had returned from missionary work abroad to take the living at Brentdor.
‘We bought her as a pup, when we moved in. She was so full of fun, my wife would play with her for hours on the lawn.’ He raised his cloudy eyes towards the window. ‘As I prepared my sermons, I could hear her laughter and Tess merrily barking in the garden. The garden …’ he sighed again. ‘I’m afraid I’ve let that go. In fact, I’ve let most things go.’
There was an uneasy silence as the Reverend Gladstone studied the backs of his scrawny hands, while I continued to stroke Tess’s narrow forehead.
I looked at the pathetic, crumpled old vicar in the armchair and knew I was getting involved. But after all, I reasoned, it was an old dog and what I was about to do was both practical and humane. Then I looked up at the old man again, the old man whose last link with his dear, departed wife and those happy, carefree days I was about to sever, and I realised there was far more to being a country vet than I had ever imagined.
He pressed his hands onto the arms of the chair, as if he was going to rise, but didn’t.
‘When my wife suffered so much pain in those last few weeks,’ he said softly, ‘there were times when I questioned my faith and wondered why it was all so necessary. At least, with Tess, I can repay her loyalty by not letting her linger.’
‘Would you like to stay?’ I asked.
He shook his head, then moved from the chair to kneel beside me. Shakily he bent forward and cradled the old Setter’s head in his arms.
‘Remember blackberry time, those warm, easeful days. We’d look for Molly in the fields; you’d see her first, old girl. She’d call and off you’d go, leaping across the stubble to her. Then I would catch you up and take her basket; then home we’d come, all three of us together.’ He closed his eyes and pulled the old dog to him. ‘Run on now, my Tess, to dear Molly. And I’ll be with you shortly.’
He grabbed my arm as he rose and for a few seconds, head bowed, hung on to me. Then looking up, eyes tearful but still set with a gentle smile, he said:
‘I’ll leave her in your care, young man.’ Then he shuffled to the door and drew it and the sagging curtain closed behind him.
I stood for a few seconds looking at her; I was full up and my eyes were feeling gritty, so I took a deep breath and opened the case.
Tess looked up momentarily as the fine needle entered her vein; then, as the barbiturate flooded her bloodstream, her breathing quickened slightly, she took two deeper breaths and lowered her head back onto her paws, as if she was very tired. Then she was still. Tess was dead, and I had killed her.
I pulled the patchwork blanket across and put the syringe and bottle away. After a few minutes I called the Reverend Gladstone; he offered me a sherry, but his hand shook so much that most of it spilled upon the floor. I asked if he would like me to take Tess away, but he declined, saying he would bury her in the garden. Then he walked with me to the gate and, as we parted, even asked God to bless me.
Half a mile out of Brentdor, I stopped on a grassy sward just off the road and sat for quite some time, just thinking.
* * *
‘All work and no play makes Hubert a dull vet!’ observed Charlie on the Tuesday evening of my last week. ‘You’ll be leaving soon and we haven’t had a night out together, yet. Well, social that is,’ he added, rubbing his hands eagerly. ‘Mind you, some of those calls have been a bit of a lark, I’ll give you that.’ For having whetted Charlie’s veterinary appetite at the Ridways’, he had since joined me on several night visits and, as the territory was still rather foreign to me, his company was welcome and also reassuring, especially as I had managed to persuade him to tone down his ‘gear’ for our rural expeditions.
‘How about a jar at the Ravens tonight?’ he suggested. ‘Promised you a knees-up there, didn’ I? Tell your guvnor your going to look at a “leedle Frog pooch”.’ He pointed to the phone.
It was true that, so far, my time at Ledingford had seemed all work with little opportunity for relaxation, my only diversions being an evening when Brad had invited me to a talk on Australia at Putsley Church Hall and a visit to the cinema to see a Western, during which I fell fast asleep. A ‘knees-up’ was due, I concluded.
‘Good idea!’ I told Charlie. ‘I’ll give Bob Hacker a ring.’
Bob sounded in an unusually good mood and agreed to handle anything that came in, so after a wash and brush up I was ready to go.
‘Have a nice time,’ said Brad, though her expression changed to one of mild disapproval when she learned where we were going.
The Three Ravens Club was established in a large country house on the outskirts of the town. The old residence had obviously seen more genteel times, but was now given over to the demands of the modern clientele. Although it was termed a club, the rules seemed very flexible, for when Charlie explained that when we got there, he would sign me in, I enquired how long he had been a member. But he just tapped his nose, in the manner of C. J. Pink, and replied that he wasn’t.
There were several cars parked on the gravel forecourt and I pulled up the little Ford on the end of the line. Charlie was out before I could secure the brake.
‘Come on, Hubert!’ he shouted. ‘We’re wasting good drinking time.’
I followed up the steps to the extensive porch, supported by columns in the Grecian style, not unlike those outside the Merchants Hall but smaller, chipped and in need of restoration. In fact, the whole place appeared a bit run down, although inside the lights were bright and, even with the door closed, I could hear the strains of lively music.
The interior hallway was lit by a showy chandelier which, together with the heavily embossed plum-coloured wallpaper, was obviously designed to give the impression of unashamed luxury, but didn’t quite get away with it. There were several archways leading off into side rooms. I caught sight of a gaming table in one, and there was a card school in progress in another. Charlie led off confidently down a long passage and we eventually emerged into an oak-panelled bar.
‘’Allo, Charlie!’
The voice was unmistakable.
‘’Allo, Mimi!’ mimicked Charlie. ‘Look ’oo I ’ave brought for you.’ And standing to one side, with a wide sweep of his arm, he presented me to Mimi Lafont who was in attendance behind the counter. She was visible only from the waist upwards, a factor that accentuated her positives in no uncertain manner. Yet as soon as my eyes had re-coordinated themselves, my nostrils were being titillated by the delights of her exotic perfume. She wore a pink, diaphanous blouse abundant with frills and, lodged in the ‘V’ of the extremely low neck was that rose, the one whose presence absolved the garment, but barely in the nick of time, of any degree of impropriety.
I smiled and nodded at the delicious creature.
‘Mr Lasgarn,’ she cooed. ‘’Ow lovely.’ Then she gave a sideways glance and, touching her lips briefly with the back of her jewelled hand, said coyly:
‘Now I ’ave two of you. ’Ow lovely.’
I followed her glance to the end of the bar where, seated on a high stool with a large whisky before him, was none other than McBean.
‘Well now, Hugh,’ he acknowledged, ‘now there’s a surprise an’ all. You’ll be here for the experience, I shouldn’t wonder?’
‘You might say that,’ I countered, copying Charlie’s style. ‘And then again — you might not.’
Charlie appeared bemused by the banter, so I introduced him to my colleague.
After handshakes and greetings, McBean ordered two pints, took another whisky for himself and Mimi joined us with a port and lemon.
Charlie was soon rabbiting on about a trip he had once made to Ireland, and how he hadn’t enjoyed it because ‘it rained all the bleedin’ time’ and he had difficulty in understanding the ‘lingo’. McBean listened tolerantly until Charlie said:
‘No wonder all Micks are little, it’s gettin’ wet all the time. Shrinks ’em, you see.’ He raised his glass and called, ‘Cheerio.’ I could see McBean was becoming irritated, so I changed the subject and enquired of Mimi how Petal was faring.
‘She still ’as a leedle trouble,’ she replied, flashing her lashes. ‘But with you and “Iggy” to look after her, I know she will be wonderfool!’
‘Iggy!’ I repeated.
‘Ignatius,’ she explained, casting an alluring glance at McBean.
McBean coughed, said, ‘Well now,’ and finished his whisky. This revelation gave another dimension to McBean’s character, for surprisingly enough, in my three weeks at Hacker’s, I had never thought of him as other than Mr McBean, McBean or just Mac — or on such close terms with Mimi Lafont, either.
It was Charlie who, putting his glass back upon the counter, couldn’t resist following up the line. ‘Another whisky, Iggy?’ he asked, his face showing not the slightest trace of flippancy.
McBean nodded, but I could see in his eyes that he wasn’t taking too kindly to my Cockney companion.
We sat drinking for some time, Charlie doing most of the talking, while Mimi occasionally detached herself to attend to other members in the bar. Charlie had got to the point where he was displaying his expertise at bar tricks with piles of pennies, when McBean asked: ‘Ever seen a “whisky knock”, Charlie?’
Charlie eyed McBean suspiciously and slowly shook his head, then his face gradually broke into a smile as he realised there could well be some catch in the question.
‘Come on, let’s have it,’ he said. ‘What’s a “whisky knock”?’
‘Now there’s a thing, Hugh,’ said McBean. But we couldn’t really expect a gentleman from the City to know, could we?’ Then, turning to Mimi, he asked for a whisky. ‘In one of those wee glasses, there.’ He pointed to a row of small goblets. ‘And some ginger ale, if you please.’
With the requirements before him, McBean assumed the pose of a conjuror by raising his arms so that his jacket sleeves fell back slightly, as if to demonstrate that all was above board and he had nothing concealed about his person.
Charlie watched with undivided attention.
First, McBean held up the goblet and appraised its contents; then, after replacing it upon the counter, he dipped the end of his forefinger into the amber liquid and moistened the rim of the glass with a circular motion. Finally, he touched the end of his tongue with his fingertip, to avoid any wastage.
‘Now watch carefully,’ he said, slowly and deliberately. ‘This must be done very quickly.’
For a few seconds he sat poised with his hands held over the drink; then, taking a deep breath, he shot into action. Grabbing the ginger ale, he topped up the scotch with the left hand, covering the glass immediately afterwards with the palm of his right. Then, ale bottle down, he took the goblet in his left hand, still covered with the right, thumped it hard on his knee, uncovered the glass and downed it in one.
‘There!’ he announced smugly, smoothing his dampened moustache down at each side. ‘That’s a “whisky knock”.’
‘So what!’ exclaimed Charlie, turning to me with an expression of amused bewilderment upon his face.
‘Let’s see you do it,’ challenged McBean.
Charlie slapped his knee. ‘You’re a mad Mick and no mistake,’ he roared.
‘A little wager,’ added McBean. ‘Five bob ye can’t.’
‘Five bob I can’t!’ Charlie dissolved in laughter, but on recovering, he dug his hand deep into his powder-blue drainpipe pocket and slapped two halfcrowns on the counter.
‘You’re on, Iggy! You’re on!’ he shouted. ‘Set ’em up. darlin’.’
Mimi obliged and Charlie went through the ritual step by step as demonstrated by McBean: first appraising the whisky, then moistening the rim and licking his forefinger. When all set, he turned to the assembled company that had now grown to a small group as other members were drawn with interest to the contest.
‘Now you all watch very carefully. I’ve got to be quick, so I have, an’ all, an’ all,’ Charlie announced in a mock Irish accent and, taking a deep breath as McBean had done, he was off. In went the ginger ale, then swiftly he covered the glass with his palm. Snatching it from the counter with his free hand, he thumped it violently on his knee and raised the glass to his lips.
But, as he took his right hand away to drink, the effervescing contents foamed up instantaneously, exploding in his face, leaving him dripping in a bubbly mix of whisky and ginger ale.
Charlie spluttered and wrung his hands amid the laughter.
‘My God!’ he exclaimed. ‘Even my bleedin’ pants are soaked!’
‘Well, now, Charlie me boy,’ commented McBean, as he reverently removed the two halfcrowns from the counter, ‘at least Micks only get wet in the rain!’
Charlie, however, took it all in good part. ‘All right. Where did I go wrong?’ he asked, unbuttoning his shirt to mop up with a large handkerchief.
‘Buy me another whisky and I’ll show you,’ said McBean, at which point Charlie realised his opponent had got him very much over a barrel and, with a broad smile, held out a hand and said: ‘Iggy, my son. I’ll give you best!’
At that moment a rather overdressed, middle-aged blonde came into the bar and called: ‘Mr Lasgarn here?’ Seeing me acknowledge, she said, ‘Telephone for you. At the desk.’
‘You’re not on call?’ asked McBean.
‘Didn’t think so,’ I said, slipping from my stool. ‘Bob Hacker said he’d handle things.’
I followed the overdressed female to the small reception kiosk. She handed the phone across the counter and attempted to assume a disinterest in my caller, by re-arranging an already neat display of leaflets in a holder on the wall.
‘It’s Percy, Mr Lasgarn. He’s had an accident. Could you come home, please!’ It was Brad, sounding terribly distressed. ‘He’s in the kitchen …’ Her voice faltered and I could tell she was crying. ‘He’s just crawled in, bleeding and in an awful state. Please come home!’
‘Brad, I’ll be there straight away,’ I said. ‘Don’t worry. I’m coming now.’ I heard her give a sniff, then she put the phone down.
‘Everything all right?’ enquired the overdressed blonde.
‘Percy’s had an accident,’ I replied.
‘Relative?’ she asked.
‘No,’ I said, ‘a friend. Just a friend.’ Then I made my way hastily back to the bar.
‘I’m going back to the digs, now,’ I told my drinking companions.
‘I’ll come with you,’ offered Charlie, rising from his stool.
‘No need,’ I said. ‘I can manage.’
‘So you might,’ he replied, shaking his sticky trousers. ‘But Percy’s a mate of mine. Come on.’
‘Want any help?’ asked McBean.
‘Don’t know yet,’ I admitted. ‘But it doesn’t sound too good.’
‘Ring back if you do. 9730, isn’t it?’ He turned to Mimi.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Good luck.’
Percy was lying in his favourite spot by the stove in the kitchen. Brad had covered him with a woollen blanket.
‘He hasn’t moved since he came in,’ she sobbed, gathering the collar of her dressing gown closer.
I carefully drew back the blanket to reveal Percy lying on his right side. He raised his head slightly in response to my movement, but it obviously caused him pain and he unsteadily lowered it again. Sticky, bloodstained saliva covered his face, his tongue protruding slightly over a sagging lower jaw.
‘Will he be all right?’ asked Brad tearfully.
‘Don’t you worry, m’dear.’ Charlie put his arm tenderly around her shoulders. ‘Hugh here will fix him, if anybody can.’
I paid no apparent heed to the compliment, though secretly I was very flattered and only hoped I could come up to Charlie’s expectations. He himself was certainly very concerned and upset, which had probably accounted for him calling me Hugh, for the very first time.
I lifted Percy up and motioned to Charlie to put the blanket on the table, then gently I laid the poor creature on it and commenced my examination.
‘Could you fetch my case from the car, Charlie?’ He nodded and disappeared.
From the colour of the membranes around the eyes, I deduced that Percy had not lost an excessive amount of blood, despite the haemorrhage from the mouth. There were no broken limbs, no scars or abrasions on his skin, but his coat on the left side was contaminated with what appeared to be red sand. Charlie returned with the case and opened it ready for me to use.
With my stethoscope I listened to Percy’s chest; the breathing was shallow but regular and his heart steady. There was no evidence of broken ribs or lung damage.
‘So far, so good,’ I commented.
‘Car accident?’ asked Charlie.
‘Could be,’ I agreed. Then, cautiously I opened Percy’s mouth. As I did so, he tensed and dug his claws deeply into the fabric of the woollen blanket, at the same time giving a low growl of anguish. But for me, one glimpse was enough to recognise that his jaw had been broken; the teeth on the right side were displaced at least half an inch above those opposite.
‘That hurt him!’ exclaimed Charlie, wincing as if experiencing the pain personally. ‘What is it?’
‘Fractured jaw,’ I replied. ‘Right at the symphisis — the join,’ I explained. ‘At the front.’
‘Oh!’ gasped Brad. ‘Poor Percy. Don’t put him to sleep. Please!’
‘Can you do anything?’ Charlie’s face was quite white. ‘Anything at all?’
‘It’s a nasty one,’ I admitted. ‘He’s had a crack on the jaw, all right. Trouble is, fixing it so that he will still be able to eat. You can’t plaster that area.’
I moistened some cotton wool and cleaned Percy’s face. He seemed to appreciate my attention, closing his eyes and slightly raising his aching head as if trying to assist in any way he could. I thought of the evenings when he would relax on the chair in front of me — not a care in the world. And now this. Poor old chap.
Suddenly I knew I was becoming involved again. How difficult it was to be detached, I thought, yet I had to be. For if I could do nothing, I would have to put Percy down and that would be heartbreaking for Brad — and Charlie — and, I had to admit it, for me as well.
‘It wants a brace,’ I said, thinking aloud. ‘Like a wire brace.’ If I could fix the jawbones together with wire, it would still allow the tongue to function and Percy could at least lap. ‘It wants to be fairly fine and strong, but pliable.’
‘Like fuse wire,’ said Charlie.
‘Fuse wire?’
‘Yea, thick fuse wire. Wind it round his cutters — what d’you call them?’
‘Carnacials,’ I said thoughtfully. ‘Yes, that could work. Brad, have you got any?’
Brad, who seemed to have composed herself, ferreted about in a kitchen drawer and eventually held up a card.
‘Thirty-amp should do the trick,’ I said, studying it. ‘But I’ll have to put Percy out first.’
Over the next half hour, with Charlie’s assistance and Brad hovering about in the background, I anaesthetised Percy with a barbiturate injection and, after cleaning up the jaw, secured the fractured ends in place with the fuse wire. To ensure that the brace wouldn’t slip, I had to pass the free ends through the skin flaps of his lower jaw to meet in a twist under his chin. Finally, I dressed my handiwork with some antiseptic ointment.
‘Nice bit of engineering, Hubert,’ said Charlie, as I washed up. ‘Ole Percy will think he’s done ten rounds with Joe Erskine when he wakes up.’
‘He will wake up?’ asked Brad anxiously.
‘Yes, I’m sure he will,’ I said. ‘Percy’s a tough old stick, he’ll make it. He’ll obviously have a bit of difficulty eating at first, so milk with sugar or Bovril would be a good starter.’
The clatter of the door knocker broke abruptly into our conversation.
‘Now who could that be, at this time of night?’ said Brad, a trifle nervously.
‘I’ll go,’ said Charlie. ‘Could be the News of the World come to get my story!’
I heard greetings and laughter, then McBean popped his head round the door.
‘Well now,’ he began, ‘I was just running Mimi — Miss Lafont — home and I thought I’d call by to see what was afoot.’
By the exotic aroma that wafted after him I deduced that Mimi — Miss Lafont — was not very far behind. Sure enough, she was there and I could hear Charlie introducing her to Brad in the hallway. I explained the circumstances to McBean who carefully scrutinised Percy’s repaired jaw before standing back and after a cursory smoothing of his moustache, pronouncing judgement.
‘Good bit of work, Hugh, good bit of work,’ he commented. ‘Seen this type o’ thing once or twice before. It’s usually caused by a fall, cat jumping for a wall and misjudging the distance. Cracks his chin and splits the symphisis.’
‘That’s how he did it,’ said Brad who had overheard McBean’s comments. ‘You silly boy,’ she scolded, though Percy was quite oblivious of the reprimand, being still deeply asleep. ‘Some nights,’ she explained, ‘if he’s shut out, he climbs the apple tree and jumps onto my window sill.’
‘That explains the sand on his coat,’ I added. ‘The builders left a pile on the concrete below.’
‘Well, Mimi,’ said Charlie, ‘hope it’s not so dangerous getting into your bedroom.’
‘Charlie!’ exploded Mimi, patting the air with her hand, as she usually did when pretending to be disapproving, but enjoying it really.
Brad, with a look of slight embarrassment, suggested that she make some cocoa.
‘How long do you think the brace should stay on?’ I asked McBean.
‘About a month should do it,’ he replied.
‘Will you see to taking it off?’ I asked.
‘I can’t,’ I explained. ‘I’ll be finished here next week.’
‘Well now!’ McBean took my arm and secretively turned me into the corner, facing the saucepan rack and bread bin. ‘Bob and I have been talking,’ he confided. ‘You see, now that his father is dead, we’re going to be a bit short-handed. And I think we could get a deferment for you from the Army, for a while anyway, if you’d like to stay. It’s up to you, of course. It’s not so bad here, and — well now —’ he assumed a very dour expression, as if he was about to say something very profound. ‘— I’d like you to stay, if you would. Think it over.’
The offer took me completely by surprise. I thanked him for it and said I would consider the suggestion. Brad was busying herself with cups and saucers, and through in the hallway I could see Charlie offering to listen to Mimi’s heart with my stethoscope. Percy was still relaxed, but gradually starting to come around.
It was a good offer, but was I just putting off the inevitable National Service? Perhaps it would be better to get it over. Yet I was happy at Ledingford, and who was to say if there would be a job available here again?
‘Cocoa’s ready,’ said Brad. And as I followed her into the dining room, she turned and said, ‘Percy and I would like you to stay, too.’