Do you use your eyes much?'
'Fourteen hours a day, that's all.'
'H'm! You are a literary man, I think?'
'I am. My name is Alfred Yule.'
He had some faint hope that the name might be recognised; that
would have gone far, for the moment, to counteract his trouble.
But not even this poor satisfaction was to be granted him; to his
hearer the name evidently conveyed nothing.
'See a competent man, Mr Yule. Science has advanced rapidly since
the days when I was a student; I am only able to assure you of
the existence of disease.'
They talked for half an hour, until both were shaking with cold.
Then Yule thrust his hand into his pocket.
'You will of course allow me to offer such return as I am able,'
he said. 'The information isn't pleasant, but I am glad to have
it.'
He laid five shillings on the chest of drawers--there was no
table. The stranger expressed his gratitude.
'My name is Duke,' he said, 'and I was christened Victor--
possibly because I was doomed to defeat in life. I wish you could
have associated the memory of me with happier circumstances.
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