The Seventh Noon

A laboratory argument puts Peter Donaldson's dissatisfaction with life beside Professor Barstow's faith in its value. Donaldson measures existence against the rewards he can afford, while the chemist insists that something so complex should never be wasted. Their conversation takes an unsettling turn when Barstow describes an accidental discovery: a poison whose effects are delayed for seven days. Donaldson's tenderness toward a small terrier gives the debate a personal edge.

Frederick Orin Bartlett's novel also follows Donaldson into practical responsibilities. In the later scene, he arranges a nurse, a cook and food for a household, then hears newspaper praise for his rescue of Bobby. His discomfort with being called a hero exposes a gap between public admiration and private motives. Readers drawn to stories about conscience can find here an argument about life's worth carried into acts of care and moments of uneasy reflection.