Things had been going badly for a couple of days and the old man had been seriously overworked.

He had not listened to the warnings of Tarboe, or to the hints thrown out by his own punished physique.

He was not a man to take hints.

Everything that vexed his life roused opposition.

This Tarboe knew, but he also knew that the business must suffer, if the old man suffered.
When John Grier left the office it was with head bowed and mind depressed.