they 'd been in the ward office with its smell of oiled floors and disinfectant -- the protestant chaplain , a small sandy-haired man whose dark suits always seemed too large and made him appear even smaller ; the ward nurse , mrs. norman , heavy , gray-haired , busty , a drill sergeant 's rocky face with cap always set squarely on her head ; dr. whelye , an impression of excess bulk in a tweed suit , iron gray at the temples , and in patches through his black hair , a sanitary and barber-scraped appearance to his pink cheeks , and a look of calculated reserve in his washed blue eyes .