laurence did not say so , but it was his private opinion that all this experimentation was only half-hearted , and meant to occupy their attention while keynes waited for the climate to do its work ; though dorset made careful notes of each trial in his regular hand , going from one dragon to the next in rounds thrice daily , and inquiring with heartless indifference how much the patient had coughed since the last inquiry , what pains he suffered , how he ate ; this last was never much .