Philip Curtiss

“ As Bellsmith looked at the man at the desk in his crisp, starched linen, he reflected that Dr. MacVickar would probably succeed in making it seem cool wherever he might be, for, outside in the streets, waves of heat were rising from the soft asphalt pavements. As it was, even the doctor still showed little blue shadows under his eyes.
"You look tired," Bellsmith suggested.
The doctor shrugged. "It's been a hard summer."
"And it's not easy work shouldering other people's troubles all day long?" ”

“ The doctor smiled ruefully. "My theory! My dear chap, it won't do you any harm now to tell you that my theory in your case was very much like that of a class in chemistry. The professor stands up before his pupils and performs a certain standard experiment. He does it to demonstrate the inevitability of immutable laws, but every time in his secret heart he is praying fervently that it will work."
Bellsmith laughed, but even he had felt a certain perfunctory quality in the heartiness of the doctor's talk. ”

“ An awkward silence fell, as it usually does between two persons who have been waiting impatiently for months to see each other. It was cool up there in the office, with the windows wide open and the tip of an elm-tree showing just outside them. ”