Ernestine  noticed  them  at  once.  What  made  them
so  red? — she  wanted  to  know.  Did  they  hurt?  And
wasn't  there  something  he  could  put  in  them?  He
told  her  he  was  going  to  look  after  them  at  once.
He  could  not  afford  to  lose  any  time,  and  of  course
he  could  do  nothing  without  his  eyes.
Immediately  after  breakfast  he  started  over  to
the  laboratory.
It  was  Sunday  morning  and  there  would  be  no  one
there,  which  was  so  much  the  better.  He  wanted  to
get  this  straightened  out.
He  had  his  head  down  all  the  way  over  to  the  uni
versity,  partly  because  his  eyes  bothered  him  and
partly  because  he  was' thinking  hard.  The  trouble
had  evidently  been  coming  on  yesterday.  He  stopped
short.  That  trick  Parkman  told  him  about!  But
of  course — moving  on  a  little — that  could  not  have
anything  to  do  with  this.  He  had  no  recollection —
he  was  very  sure — then  he  walked  faster,  and  the
lines  of  his  mouth  told  that  he  was  troubled.
When  he  reached  the  laboratory  he  began  imme
diately  upon  the  microscopic  examination.  He  hoped
he  could  get  at  it  through  that,  for  the  culture  pro-.
cess  meant  a  long  wait.  But  after  fifteen  minutes
of  careful  work  the  "  smear "  proved  negative.
There  remained  then  only  the  longer  route  of  the
culture.
