Evening star., 1932-04-08
INSTALLMENT XIV


a fresh bandage around his
inflamed arm. 1t had been
painful the whole evening, for
during the Mayreders swimming lesson
the bandage had become sodden with
water and pressed painfully on the
throbbing flesh. He felt sick when he
even thought of his elbow. "A nice
business" he said with severity as he
looked at the wound which though
healed had an unhealthy blush red and
swollen appearance. His right hand
was hot and numbed He was taken
with such violent shuddering fit that
for moment or two he gave way to II
like tree before storm. He let
things take their course 1t was all a
matter of Indifference Everything
seemed remote and strange.
He crept into bed The bed-clothes
were always a little damp, for the lake
Tapped under the floor boards. Martin
could not get as far as putting out the
lamp. 1t seemed to him, too, that the
sides of the hut were malicious and
hostile and all the knots in the wood
were eyes. Then he was surprised to
md that he was two people Zone OF
them observed that he must now as
suredly be in a fever). After this he
found himself in a engine room where
the heat was terrific. The men were
all aglow with heat. He could feel how
their backs and shoulders burned, ana
he took off his shirt One Of the men
got his arms caught in the driving belt.
1t was horrible. The man was in agony.
If it's all up with the chief engineer,
May will have to marry Herr Wucher-
pfennig," said Herr Lyssenhop. They
dragged Martin out of the shed, for It
was his arm that had been torn OIL.
Somebody picked it up out of the saw
dust, and Martin tossed reStlessly IN dry
rustling heaps of it. I've had enough
of this, thought Martin. It's time to
wake up and he did SO.
He felt gingerly about on the table
for water, but he could find none. So
he went into the kitchen to his mother.
His mother sat on the coal scuttle grind
ing pepper in the pepper mill. 1t was
very hot in the kitchen too, and the
pepper made him smart Martin got
on his bicycle that his mother had re-
deemed from the pawnshop and rode
upon it into the DolomiteS. The Do
lomites were very steep but made OF a
kind of paper-mache that constantly
gave way. oom-boo-boo-Went the
pestle and mortar. 1t was almost I'M
possible to get twelve hundred meters
up in these Dolomites May might
stand long enough with the stop-Watch
and beckon him on. The pestle and
mortar too, made him nervous and he
thought: No record today. He fell oil
his bicycle into Stag heap and sharp
stone was left sticking to his elbow. He
tried to dig it out and then let it be
and went straight through the labora-
tory back to his mother. B0Onl-bOO-
boo went the pestle and mortar.
A machine that was constructed all
wrong produced non-inflammable film.
The strips rolled themselves up and got
mixed up With one another in great
heaps. The laboratory was full of them,
and his mother did no good pounding
in the mortar. Suddenly their was
rending sound, and the non-inflammable
film caught fire. 1t burnt bright and
hot and glowing, and Martin was
hurled to the ground by the explosion.
He opened his eyes suddenly and felt
his heart pounding and stared sense
lessly at the paraffin lamp which he had
not put out. 1t was still alight, faring
with a blackened wick and smelling
horribly.
Martin assembled the various selves
into which delirium had split him up
and sat few minutes with his head
hanging heavily forward over his tum-
bled bed. Look out he said to himself
Where am I? What's up with me? 1
scratched myself on a rusty nail and my
arms is giving me trouble. l am not
right. Tomorrow III go to DR.. May
reder.
There was knock Martin pulled
himself together with a great effort.
Yes? What is it? Wnos there?" he
shouted.
"It's me, Puck. Open the door,"
came the answer.
This seemed very surprising. In his
dazed state he could not understand it.
He put his feet to the floor and crawled
out of bed. 1t seemed to him that the
walls for few seconds went completely
black and then became visible again in
the light of the smoking lamp. He
grasped hold of the back of his char
and gave curse at the pain this
caused him. Then he said: Come in.
The doors open"
The door opened and in came Puck.
She looked Just as she had the first
time he saw her; she wore the same
rough cloak with a hood, the cotton
dress, and rough boots; and she was
wet through. A rush of cold air and
moisture came in with her. Rain pat
tered too, on the roof.
"Oh, so it's you. And what do you
want? You haven't come for bath in
the middle of the night?" said Martin.
He steadied himself on his bare feet
and confronted Puck quite calmly in the
pajamaS he had mended himself. Puck
did not look well. She looked as If she,
too, was in fever-pale, tremulous, and
with bright. Sunken eyes.
I've roWed over It's not l o'clock
yet. We have lot of people -theatri-
cal people whom mama invited. I
bolted," said Puck. She pointed vaguely
out intn the "a in and darkness hehihd