CHAPTER TWENTY: An Offer of Work

Andrew woke up in the middle of that night, calling out: ‘Am I a fool, Chris?’

She comforted him in the darkness. ‘No. We don’t want to stay in Wales for the rest of our lives, dear. We’ve been happy here, but it’s time for us to move on.’

‘But Chris, we can’t afford to buy a practice yet. We ought to save some more money before we leave here.’

‘What does money matter?’ she answered in a sleepy voice.

Her confidence gave him courage. Next morning the world seemed a cheerful place. He had no need to worry about the risk that he was taking! He now had a degree and over three hundred pounds in the bank. They would never be hungry.

Now that he was to leave, everybody wanted him to stay. A week after the inquiry, Owen and two or three members of the committee called at his house and asked Andrew to change his mind. But he refused.

Reports of his coal dust discoveries had recently been printed in a number of medical papers in England and America. A few days later, as a result of these reports, Andrew received several letters.

One letter was from Challis, who asked Andrew to visit him that week. Andrew lost the letter and forgot to answer it. Another letter interested him more.

‘This pleases me, Chris! It’s from an American named Stillman,’ he told her.

‘Yes? Is he a doctor?’ she asked.

‘No – not really. He runs a small hospital in America, where he treats people for diseases of the lung. The medical profession refuses to recognize him. But Stillman is a good man – very clever at his work. I’ll tell you about him some time.’

He sat down and replied to Stillman immediately.

As he still neglected to answer Challis, Andrew soon received a second letter from him. This stated that the Coal and Mines Board, having read about his coal dust experiments, wished Andrew to be their Medical Officer.

When Christine read the letter, she said happily: ‘Didn’t I tell you that something like this would happen? Isn’t it good?’

‘Yes, lovely!’

Andrew went straight to the post office and sent a message to Challis accepting the offer.