<正> The. hospital was unusually quiet that bleak① January evening,quiet and still like the air before a storm. I glanced at the clock in thenurses′ station.② It was nine o′clock. I threw a stethoscope③ aroundmy neck and headed for Room 712. As I entered the room, Mr. Mills looked up eagerly, but droppedhis. eyes④ when he saw it was only me, his nurse. I pressed stethoscopeto his chest and listened. Strong. slow, even beating⑤. There seemed