I promised to take it round with me."
He telephoned instructions, and presently a porter brought in the
medicine. Campion explained that it had been prescribed by the doctor
attached to the institution who was attending the case.
"You must come and see the working of our surgery and dispensary!" he
cried enthusiastically. "We charge those who can afford a sixpence for
visit and medicine. Those who can't are provided, after inquiry, with
coupons. We don't want to encourage the well-to-do to get their medical
advice gratis, or we wouldn't be able to cope with the really poor. We
pay the doctor a fixed salary, and the fees go to the general fund of
the Building, so it doesn't matter a hang to him whether a patient pays
or not."
"You must be proud of all this, Campion?" I said.
"In a way," he replied, lighting his pipe; "but it's mainly a question
of money--my poor old father's money which he worked for, not I."
I reminded him that other sons had been known to put their poor old
father's money to baser uses.
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