about ten
to one
It seemed to him that his son 's face already wore the look of one doomed to dissolution at an early date . `` Yes , he has , Mr. McKaye , '' the doctor replied gravely ; `` provided he 'll fight . You will understand that in typhoid fever the mortality rate is rather high -- as high as thirty per cent . However , in the case of Donald , who is a husky athlete , I should place the odds at about ten to one that he 'll survive an attack of even more than moderate severity . That is , '' he added , `` under the most favorable conditions . '' `` Well , what 's wrong with the conditions in this case ? '' The Laird demanded crisply .