Late one October afternoon in the year 1924 a badly dressed young man looked eagerly out of the window of his railway carriage in the almost empty train. Manson had been travelling all day, but the last stage of his long journey to South Wales moved him to great excitement as he thought of the post, his first as a doctor, that he was about to take up in this, wild country.

Outside, the rain beat down between the mountains on either side of the railway line. The tops of the mountains were hidden by a grey sky; and their sides, which contained many coal mines, looked black and cold. Night was falling and no trees, no grass could be seen. At a bend in the railway line, a bright red light from an iron works suddenly came into view, lighting up a number of men who were working with all their strength. At once, a sense of power filled the mountain valley. Manson drew a deep breath. He felt an added call to effort, a sudden hope and promise for the future.

It was dark when, half an hour later, his train reached Drineffy. He had arrived at last. Manson jumped from the train and hurried out of the station.

In the street, an old man in dirty clothes looked at him carefully, and asked: 'Are you Dr Page's new man?'

'That's right. Manson's my name - Andrew Manson.'

'Hm! Mine's Thomas. I've got the carriage here. Get in!'

Manson climbed into the carriage, which was badly in need of repair; and they drove in silence through several streets of small, dirty houses. Old Thomas, whose body gave off an unpleasant smell, kept looking strangely at Manson. At last he said: 'You've only just left college, eh?'

Andrew smiled.

'I thought so!' old Thomas said, scornfully. 'The last man left ten days ago. They never stay for long!'

'Why?' Andrew asked, trying to hide his anxiety.

'The work's too hard, for one reason.'

'And what are the other reasons?'

'You'll soon find out!'

After leaving the centre of the town, they drove across some rough ground near a coal mine, and then up a narrow, stony road to a house close to the rows of small miners' houses.

'This is the house,' said Thomas, stopping the horse.

Andrew got out of the carriage. The next minute the front door was thrown open, and he was welcomed by a tall woman of about fifty.

'Well! Well! You must be Dr Manson. Come inside. I'm Dr Page's sister, Miss Page. I am pleased to see you!' she said with a friendly smile. 'Our last man was of no use; but I'm sure that I can trust you. Come with me, and I will show you your bedroom.'