"Relatively, if you please. You have the good fortune to be
infected with one of the diseases over which we have the most
certain control."

"Yes, yes," exclaimed George, "but the remedies are worse than
the disease."

"You deceive yourself," replied the other.

"You are trying to make me believe that I can be cured?"

"You can be."

"And that I am not condemned?"

"I swear it to you."

"You are not deceiving yourself, you are not deceiving me? Why,
I was told--"

The doctor laughed, contemptuously. "You were told, you were
told! I'll wager that you know the laws of the Chinese
concerning party-walls."

"Yes, naturally," said George. "But I don't see what they have
to do with it."

"Instead of teaching you such things," was the reply, "it would
have been a great deal better to have taught you about the nature
and cause of diseases of this sort. Then you would have known