XVI
“To speak seriously though,” said Guy Grand, “doesanyone have news of Bill Thorndike? I haven’t had a word in the longest.”
Ginger Horton set her cup down abruptly.
“That ... that damnnut!” she said. “Noand Icouldn’tcare less!”
“Who?” asked Esther.
“Dr. Thorndike,” explained Agnes, “that extraordinary dentist whom Ginger went to—he and Guy were friends at school together; isn’t that right, Guy?”
“Yes, quite good friends too,” said Guy. “Poor fellow, had a nervous breakdown or something from what Ginger says. No, I haven’t had a word from him in the longest. How was he then, when you last saw him, Ginger?”
Grand had made this inquiry any number of times, and then had always glossed over Ginger’s account of the incident, as though he could not fully take it in.
“Thelast time!” she cried. “Why I only saw him once, of course—onyourrecommendation—and once too often it was too! Good God, don’t tell me you’ve forgottenthatagain? Why he was absolutely insane! He said to me, ‘These molars are soft, Mrs. Horton!’ or some such ridiculous thing. ‘We’d better get you onto a soft-food regime right away!’ he said, and then, without another word about it, while I was still leaning back with my mouth open, he dropped araw egginto my mouth and rushed out of the room, waving his arms and yelling at the top of his voice. Raving mad!”
“Hmm—not like Bill Thorndike,” said Grand. “First-rate dentist, he used to be. You never went back to him then?”
“Icertainly did not! I went straight to the nearest police station, that’s where I went! And reported him!”
Grand frowned a look of mild disapproval.
“I’m afraid that won’t help Bill’s standing with the Association any.”
“Well, I should hopenot!” said Ginger Horton as strongly as she could.
“How Uncle Edward used to love raw eggs!” said Esther. “Do you remember, Agnes?”
“It’s hardly the same thing, Esther,” said Agnes.
“Well, he always had them with a sort of sauce,” Esther recalled. “Worcestershire sauce, I suppose it was.”
“It could have been some new form of deficiency treatment, of course, Ginger,” Agnes said. “I mean if your molarsweresoft....” But in the face of Ginger Horton’s mounting exasperation, she broke off and turned to Guy, “What do you think, Guy?”
“Bill alwayswasup-to-the-minute,” Guy agreed. “Always onto the latest. Very progressive in school affairs, that sort of thing—oh nothing disreputable of course—but, I mean to say, as far as being onto the latest in ... dentistry techniques, well I’m certainly confident that Bill—”
“He just plopped that raw egg right into my mouth!” said Ginger shrilly. “Why I didn’t even know what it was! And that isn’t all—the instruments, andeverythingelse there were crazy! There was some kind of wooden paddle....”
“Spatula?” prompted Guy helpfully.
“No,nota spatula! Good Heavens! A big wooden oar, about four feet long, actually leaning up against the chair.”
“Surely he didn’t use that?” said Agnes.
“But what on earth was itdoingthere is what I want to know?” Ginger demanded.
“Maybe Bill’s taken up boating,” Guy offered but then coughed lightly to show the lameness of it, “... never cared for it though in school as I remember.Tennis, that was Bill’s game—damn good he was too; on the varsity his last two years.”
“I simplycannotmake you understand what an absolute madman he was,” said Ginger Horton. “There was something else on the chair too—a pair ofice tongsit looked like.”
“Clamp, I suppose,” murmured Grand.
“‘Better safe than sorry, eh, Mrs. Horton?’ he said to me like a perfect maniac, and then he said, ‘Now Idon’twant you to swallow this!’ and he dropped araw egginto my mouth, grabbed up a lot of those weird instruments and rushed around the room, waving them over his head, and then out the door,yelling at the top of his lungs!”
“May have been called out on an emergency, you see,” said Guy, “happens all too often in that business from what I’ve seen of it.”
“Whatwashe saying when he left, Ginger?” Agnes asked.
“Saying?He wasn’tsayinganything. He was simply yelling. ‘Yaahh! Yaahh! Yaahh!’ it sounded like.”
“How extraordinary,” said Agnes.
“Whatwas he saying?” Esther asked of Agnes.
“‘Yaahh, Yaahh,’” said Agnes quietly.
“Not like Bill,” said Guy, shaking his head. “Must have been called out on emergency, only thing I can make of it.”
“But surely the receptionist could have explained it all, my dear,” said Agnes.
“Therewasno receptionist, I tell you!” said Ginger Horton irately. “There was no one but him—and a lot of fantastic instruments. And the chair was odd too! I’m lucky to have gotten out of there alive!”
“Did she swallow the egg?” asked Esther.
“Esther, for Heaven’s sake!”
“What was that?” asked Grand, who seemed not to have heard.
“Esther wanted to know if Ginger hadswallowedthe egg,” Agnes said.
“Certainly not!” said Ginger. “I spit it right out. Not at first, of course; I was in a state of complete shock. ‘Idon’twant you to swallow this!’ he said when he dropped it in, the maniac, so I just sat therein a state of pure shock while he raced around and around the room, screaming like a perfect madman!”
“Maybe it wasn’t an egg,” suggested Esther.
“What on earth do you mean?” demanded Ginger, quite beside herself. “It certainlywasan egg—a raw egg! Itastedit andsawit, and some of the yellow got on my frock!”
“And then you filed a complaint with the authorities?” asked Agnes.
“Good Heavens, Agnes, I went straight to the police. Well, he could not be found! Disappeared without trace. Raving mad!”
“Bill Thorndike’s no fool,” said Grand loyally, “I’d stake my word on that.”
“Butwhydid he disappear like that, Guy?” asked Agnes.
“May have moved his offices to another part of the city, you see,” Guy explained, “or out of the city altogether. I know Bill was awfully keen for the West Coast, as a matter of fact; couldn’t get enough of California! Went out there every chance he could.”
“No, he is notanywherein this country,” said Ginger Horton with considerable authority. “There is absolutely notraceof him.”
“Don’t tell me Bill’s chucked the whole thing,” said Grand reflectively, “given it all up and gone off to Bermuda or somewhere.” He gave a soft tolerantchuckle. “Wouldn’t surprise me too much though at that. I know Bill was awfully fond offishingtoo, come to think of it. Yes, fishing and tennis—that was Bill Thorndike all right.”