The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-10-28
DOCTOR MAX

|
forward in the big armchair-the only ar
ticle of absolute comfort in my poorly fur
nished room-and looked steadily at the
yellow and brown squares on the wall paper
beyond my study table They stood out
angular and ugly for moment. Then the
lamp light changed into a reddish mist
that stung my eyeballs and made the fame
blur in its sickly center. The figures on
the wall paper wavered, gradually grew in
distinct, then blended into neutral blot
and knew | was going blind.
Overwork, the drudging mental toll that
feeds upon the brain, had touched the win
| dows of my soul with its cold fingers, and
| the white frost was quickly gathering on
/ the crystal panes. Three months more of
/ sight! That was the limit the skilled but
/ kindly oculist had fixed. Three months;
/ the borderland of years of darkness and
/ despair. For the first time | realized that
my life was failure. | cursed the nights
of study that had won for me distinction
in my college classes; | cursed the pride of
my professor that had encouraged me to
the prodigal waste of my powers that he
might point to me as the best Greek and
Latin scholar of a decade; | heaped re-
proaches on the ambition that had led me,
an underpaid village school teacher to some
day hope for distinction at the bar;
thought and thought, as stared into the
gray half light, till all the subtle nerves of
my body seemed to concentrate behind my
throbbing eyeballs. Then the pain was
lost in an agony of mental torture so fierce
that reason seemed to tremble, and |
threw myself upon the floor.
''Iou seem TO be in trouble, professor?"
Startled by the sound of a voice, stag
gered to my feet and confronted the
speaker
''I-knocked at vour door, and not getting
an answer came in unannouuced." My
visitor was DR.. Max.
| did not reply was angered and con-
fused by the intrusion. Besides, DR.. Max
was n man whose acquaintance had never
sought He had persisUently held aloof
from nae, avoided me purposely, thought
He was tail and. robust, with a massive
bead His beard was full and black, with
a rich gloss. indicative of fine health and
great vitality He was of uncertain age;
past fifty. ! should Judge He bad resided
in NJ for five wears. and in that time
had bGilt mp a large practice among the
lower classes in section of the town
known as Dutch Bottom" For some
cause he was socially ostracised.
"Your eyes are troubling you" DR.. Max
continued, not noticing my constraint.
''Sit down." he said, and before | could
protest he had gently forced me into my
chair and turned my face to the lamp
light. There was an instant's silence,
then he sad, An operation may save your
sight, but il cannot be delayed"
desire for death fed. and the doctor from
"Dutch = ttom" faded from view to give
place to a messenger from heaven in his
habiliments. was wild with sudden JOY.
The world of light would vet be mine; the
blue mountain and the golden grain fields
of my home, my mothers face, my books,
all-aud ! broke into fit of hysterical
laughter as ! grasped the doctors hand
and caTessed it.
~ have no money" said, recollecting
myself. and for a moment tide of hope
Iessness swept back and obliterated my
newborn JOY.
But / have, and that is what brought
me here tonight" DR.. Max pushed the
hair back from my hot forehead with his
cool. moist hand AID peered long and
searchingly into my aching eyes.
A shudder shook me. The fierce recur-
ring shocks of hope and fear, despair and
Joy, were TOO much for my sCrely tried
nerves. A faintness was creeping over my
heart, but clutched the arms of my chair
with a grip that forced the flesh on my
palms into red ridges. from which the
blood seemed ready to start, and waited for
my strange visitor to proceed.
Like all mankind, | am selfish" he
said presently, with quiet laugh. Il will
give you the money with which TO save
your sight-perhaps-bu have a demand
TO make"
60 on" l exclaimed, petulantly, as he
paused
"Of course, you are not aware of it, but
am very poor Greek scholar; in fact, l
never was very proficient in the languages,
even in my college days. | have in my
possession a Greek manuscript of fifty
pages or so that picked up while travel
ing in the east some years AGO. / know
nothing OF its history save that it was said
to have been among the plumber obtained
by Constantine IA the temple at Delphos
1t is very valuable, and have never trust
ed it out of my hands. want literal
translation OF it. Ii You will undertake
the work | viii pay you $500
What" | yelled, as / leaned forward
on the edge of my chair and searched his
face TO see If he were not in Jest
IL will give You ten dollars a page" he
went on quietly-''with restrictions"
What do you nleans'
That you permit no person TO see either
the manuscript or the translation, and that
under no circumstances viii you trust the
original out of your possession, or here
after reveal its contents
| accepted with indecorous haste, it is
needless to say. and Dr. Max left me
prev to emotions thar am utterly unable
l. describe. Long after midnight fell
asleea but srll behind nv burning eye
halls NV brain was busy y phantom
troop swept constantly IN review. The
letters ef the Greek alphabet took life and
fought innumerable battles For hours /
lsbc~ed in vast library. piIng manu-
scsi1ts upon miles OF unendinZ shelves
Then, IN my troubled sleep, a stupor
seemed to come over me WAS in deep
wood where verge.sSs gladeS stretched
away on either. side in5o purple obscurity.
II was dead forest, where every vestige Of
life WAS mute, The leaves. the grass. the
flowers on the damp turf were as motion
less rs though Omnipotence had whispered
through the labyrinth be still" Is
went on | stumbled. once twice. IN the
dim light. Behind ms "A faint glow from
red sunset threw my shadow grimly
along the path until il was lost IN the
depths. | stepped aside. and then / szyS
that-ah--ah-I shuddered in my sleep-I
had fallen over gaunt arms that rose frors
tAe ~--S ..S fuiN--- --sir stalAsan R-e~--