Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-12-28


on the tin roof of the porch. Despite
the ruddy glow from the fireplace
a cherries. miserable atmosphere
seemed TO have invaded the huge, old,
silent house. doubtless the scene OF
many joys and sorrows, of birth and
death, Of strife and tragedy, and all
the varying, futile, transitory passions
of the sad mystery called life
Thoughtful and near the ragged
edge Of exhaustion, | made my way
upstairs, past the solemn clock with
it's monotonous repetition. The upper
hail was dark; lat from Vital En-
gays halfopen door a prism of dim
light cut through the gloom of the
darkened hallway.
AS | passed that door temptation
assailed me to do very unethical
thing. SO great was my anxiety TO
learn more about this peculiar man
that yielded. stopped at the door,
peered into the room; then, softly
opening it, entered.
confess to certain emotion as |
invaded the chamber. Though have
always prided myself on being with.
out ncrPes, this spying had set out
to do somewhat disturbed my eQui-
librium.
What might | not discover?
The very uncertainty of the enter
prise set my heart pounding a trife
thickly as | peered guilty about me
there.
The room, saw at once, despite
its disorder and the cigarette-butts
thrown everywhere, was one that con-
noted great culture, study, and educa-
ton. Books were strewn on shelves.
on the bureau, on the reading-table
where burned the doctors student
lamp--for Elgazy always read by
such a lamp. never by electric light.
Now he had left it turned low, its
feeble flame hardly piercing the green
porcelain shade.
There were books even on the
tumbled bed; two or three had fallen
to the floor beside his easy-chair
where doubtless he had dropped
them when tired Of his studies.
Whatever else Vital Ergazy might
not be, he was obviously tremen
dous and omnivorous reader. | turn
ed up the lamp a trifle, and glanced
at some of the titles. saw Tidlow' s
Urea ment on Narcotics" the I'm
tersuchungen," Of Deutsch and some
bound volumes of the "Annales Der
matologiques."
Two or three works were in Rus.
sian and Polish, alike unintellgible to
me. Evidently this man was a pro-
found lineuist. An Italian work or
two and one in Spanish convinced me
OF that fact
They all seemed to bear more or
ment of the skin and features. A true
eclectic, he evidently chose his knowl-
edge wherever value might be found,
Nndeterred, by racial prejudices, or
linguistic difficulties, or dogmatic
opinion
| picked up one Of the books. Cor.
donski's Surgery of the Eye i'll the
1899 London edition. never shall
forget that work-and turned the
pages with a vague idea that perhaps
some marginal notes or other indica
ti0ns might furnish me hint as to
the mans real nature. How little in
deed / expected to learn what was
now to discover in so direct and con
vincing a fashion,
AS turned the leaves, all at once
! noticed some peculiar brownish
spots on one or two, scattered in a
kind Of fine spray. browning, | eX
amined these, then continued my
search. Further on | discovered still
more of these spots, though now of a
lighter hue.
took up another volume and
hastily examined it. Here too were
the teltale marks. A third book also
disclosed them. A fourth yielded
none; but fifth gave them again.
Dismayed, l dropped the volume
and stared aghast at the evidence be-
fore me. Too well | knew what
caused those spots:
MOrphu'