Читать книгу A Town Like Alice онлайн

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"Perhaps it would be as well to wait a little before doing that," I suggested. "You may want to set up a house or a flat of your own."

She wrinkled up her nose. "I can't see myself wanting to furnish it with any of Uncle Douglas's stuff, if I did," she said.

However, she agreed not to do anything about that till her own plans were more definite, and we turned to other matters. "I've got your brother's death certificate," I said, and I was going on to tell her what I had done with it when she stopped me.

"What did Donald die of, Mr. Strachan?" she asked.

I hesitated for a moment. I did not want to tell so young a woman the unpleasant story I had heard from Dr. Ferris. "The cause of death was cholera," I said at last.

She nodded, as if she had been expecting that. "Poor old boy," she said softly. "Not a very nice way to die."

I felt that I must say something to alleviate her distress. "I had a long talk with the doctor who attended him," I told her. "He died quite peacefully, in his sleep."