Dr

by Monte Herridge

  “I know what’s the matter. They’re all

  entered by the same way I had left the building, mad at you, Dr. Grimshaw, because you peddle hid in the operating room again, and joined the dope.” I slid a plate to the floor, where it broke crowd at breakfast, after which I went to my with a crash, but it was too late—my action only room and destroyed the dummy. Just what to do served to emphasize the indiscretion of the was a problem, but I reasoned that Sherman speech. Grimshaw darted a sudden look at us, would tell me better than anybody else what lay and making some excuse, left the table. Trouble behind it, for even if he were not involved, he was in the air.

  could add much corroborative information to After the meal, the doctor summoned

  what knowledge of the events I had. If he Kraicki to his office. I knew things would very should prove one of the gang, then I must trust likely be stirring that night, so I did not even to strength and speed to escape.

  bother to undress; merely turned out my light, That afternoon, during the exercise and waited by the door for what was coming.

  period. I told him the whole story. Kaye and Sure enough, along about one o’clock,

  Dr. Grimshaw’s Sanitarium 7

  the door creaked slowly open, and a hand from a spoon, and every night Grimshaw

  holding a flashlight was extended through the returned to give me another hypodermic

  aperture. I snatched the wrist, pulling the holder injection. I felt terribly ill and depressed all that clear in and off balance with my left hand, at the time. In the morning I would wake with a same time striking out with all my force with blinding headache that would last out the day, the other hand. My blow struck full in the leaving me weak as a kitten. I began to develop intruder’s face and he went down as though hallucinations, too. The room seemed to grow pole-axed. But Grimshaw had been fully perceptibly in size, and the strait jacket became forearmed. As the first man went down, a looser.

  second gripped me by the knees, and when I One day, when I felt better than usual, I bent to care for him, a third leaped on my back.

  made an attempt to wriggle out of the now I put up a good battle, but they were too many thoroughly loosened straight-jacket. It

  for me. They got me down and strapped tight, succeeded, and I lay still on the bed in a mood and not till then did someone turn on the light. I of profound self-congratulation. When

  saw Grimshaw standing over me, dabbing a Grimshaw entered I would rise and strike him to blooded mouth with his handkerchief.

  the floor—a poor revenge, but better than none.

  “So!” he said, and I could not but admire And there was always the chance of getting past the man’s calmness. “You have delusions of the opened door, out and away.

  persecution. You imagine I am trying to give But all my dreams came to nothing. I

  you and other patients cocaine. I am afraid my was so weakened by long confinement and pain treatment has not been altogether successful in that he handled me as though I were a child—

  your case. You will have to take another and here, again, I noted a curious thing. He treatment—a long one, Mr. Doherty.” He seemed at least a head taller than I; and I am a looked incredibly benignant. I began to speak.

  six-footer. How could that be? Drugs were the

  “Come, come, don’t excite yourself. I’m

  only explanation I could fit to it at the time.

  going to give you something to quiet your The period succeeding this futile attempt nerves,” he said, and flashed out a hypodermic to escape is all a haze for me, shot by macabre with which he proceeded to give me an impressions. I remember once being taken out injection.

  on the balcony for air, and once imagining that I I lost consciousness under the effects of saw Kaye on the next balcony, muffled in a the drug, and when I recovered it was morning.

  straight jacket even as I was. But there could be I woke in a different room; it must have been on no certainty, and the muffled figure did not the third floor, the forbidden floor, for I could speak. And the dreams!—the dreams! I

  see the tops of trees beyond the barred window.

  imagined myself as light as a feather. Great I was kept there for a long time; just how giants wandered about my room with huge

  long I am uncertain for I lost all count of the weapons in their hands; hideous creatures.

  hours. During most of the period I was in a My first clear consciousness was when

  straight-jacket, and once I was operated on, Grimshaw told us all about it. One night the somewhere at the front of the skull, for I evening meal was not followed by the usual recollect my head being held firmly in a plaster injection and the morning brought the first cast after the operation, and an infinite feeling surcease from pain in—God alone knows how of nausea as the effect of the anaesthetic wore long. I woke with my eyes on a ceiling that off.

  seemed miles overhead, and when I looked at Every day a rough looking chap fed me

  the foot of the bed it appeared to have retreated

  Amazing Stories

  8

  to an infinite distance. The room was gigantic. .

  product of insufficient gland activity. Even in

  . .

  adults these glands are known to produce Grimshaw came in a moment later. He

  certain effects. Dr. Haussler has recorded how carried a bundle in his arms, and to my an abnormally active pituitary gland caused a wondering eyes, he looked fifteen feet tall. He man’s fingers to become short, wide and stubby, came right over to the bed, and deposited his long after he was fully grown.

  bundle there, and with infinite astonishment, I

  “These endocrine glands cause their

  saw it was Arthur Kaye, that big man with the changes by releasing certain substances into the high forehead, yet small enough to be carried blood stream, among them being various

  like a baby by a Dr. Grimshaw grown titanic in enzymes or yeasts, which by a complicated size. A few moments later the doctor returned series of chemical reactions bring about the with another bundle and then a third—and they changes indicated. I have given my life to the contained Sherman and Kraicki, as the first had investigation of these glands and their enzymes.

  contained Kaye.

  It will gratify you, Dr. Sherman, to know that I He looked down at us with a kindly

  have investigated over three hundred cases of smile for a moment, and then began to shout.

  dwarfism and giantism, making elaborate blood His voice was so extremely loud and deep that I and X-ray examinations. In time I became had no little difficulty in understanding what he convinced that a certain enzyme, which I call was saying, but I set it down as nearly as

  “Theta” was responsible for all known cases of possible:

  dwarfism. I have isolated enzyme theta and

  “Allow me to congratulate you four

  found that a normally active pituitary body gentlemen. You are the subjects of a classical secretes and releases a counteracting enzyme to experiment—one that will undoubtedly place it, thus preserving the balance of the body. It me in the front rank of the world’s then became a question whether I could produce endocrinologists, and will hand your names artificial dwarfism by damaging the pituitary down to posterity.

  body and introducing enzyme theta by

  “You, Dr. Sherman, will have already

  subcutaneous injection.

  understood the nature of the experiment I have

  “Animals did not give satisfactory

  performed. To the rest I must offer a few words results. Hence I was led to establish the charity of explanation, suitable to their somewhat ward of this sanitarium and, for experiment, limited intelligences. There are certain glands in secured a number of feebleminded human

  the body, gentlemen, which are called thyroid, specimens, whose absence would not be noted. I parathyroid and pituitary glands. They are have succeeded in producing midgets as small known as the ductless glands and
have no as two feet ten inches in height by this means.

  obvious function. But it has been discovered Unfortunately it was impossible to release them that if the pituitary or thyroid glands of a young into the world as normal midgets, the

  animal, say a sheep or dog, are destroyed, the civilization of this country being so backward animal will be a dwarf; in other words, these that scientific investigation of a man as an glands in some way unknown to most scientists, animal is actually punishable. Therefore I have control the growth of the animal.

  introduced these midgets to the delights of

  “Investigation has also shown that an

  cocaine and maintain my control over them by injured pituitary or thyroid gland in the human furnishing their supply of it.

  individual produces equally curious results—

  “But with you gentlemen I decided to

  giants, seven-footers seen in circuses, being the conduct the experiment on an altogether higher

  Dr. Grimshaw’s Sanitarium 9

  plane. You are already so familiar with the show she married a man named Kellett in

  details of my business that I could not release October, 1922, after which all trace of her is you, even as cocaine addicts. Consequently, I lost.

  have decided, by carefully graduating the When the story begins again, with the

  dosage of enzyme theta, to produce in you a contents of the last capsule, it is evident that the series of hyper-midgets. In the cases of the experiment has entered its final phase and that charity patients death always resulted from such Dr. Grimshaw had to a degree lost interest in his attempts; but they were mostly in poor physical four patients. It begins as it broke off—abruptly condition and their mental weaknesses were in the middle of a sentence.)

  such that cerebral collapse supervened. You

  —stumbled over a grass root and we had

  however, are not feeble-minded, with the to stop for him. The grass was forest-like in its possible exception of Mr. Kraicki, you are in density, and if he had not waited I doubt if we excellent condition. You show none of the would have found him again. The beetle

  deleterious effects that have ruined my escaped, and thus we missed a meal that night experiments with the charity patients, and I shall also. The garden was still too far away to be proceed until I have reduced you to a size at made in the dark and Kraicki was too done up to which you will no longer be dangerous or until go much further; moreover once at the garden your death puts an end to the experiment.

  our problem would only be transferred, for we

  “Your chances of survival are greatly

  would have many wanderings to make before heightened by the fact that I have produced discovering anything small enough for our artificially a second enzyme, which I call feeble efforts.

  enzyme omicron, to supplement enzyme theta.

  So we camped in a tuft of grass like

  Both of these substances are secreted in small Malays, taking turns at watching through the quantities by the hitherto little investigated night. It was bitterly cold; the piece of bandage gland located———

  was so rough it rasped the skin and the three (At this point occurs the distressing

  asleep had to use all the silk for coverlets. Every lacuna in the manuscript, a fact doubly time I blundered into one of the grass stems it unfortunate, since it deprives us of the would drench me with icy dew, like a shower opportunity for a scientific check on the bath.

  extraordinary statements of Dr. Grimshaw as In the morning Kraicki, always weak

  reported by Jack Doherty. The other details of and unstable, became so feebly insistent on not Mr. Doherty’s tale have been in part confirmed moving before he had had food, that we fairly by subsequent research. A Pinkerton detective had to drag him along. An hour’s wandering bearing the name of Dougherty was committed brought us to a rotting twig that promised well to the Grimshaw sanitarium in the early part of as fuel. We pulled some of the decaying fibres 1922. There was also a man named Arthur Kaye loose and burdened ourselves with them. They there at the same time, under treatment for would be handy to make a fire with, provided dipsomania. The names of Kraicki and Dr.

  we ever found anything worth cooking over a Sherman have not been traced. The deaths of fire. As for the method, there was always the Doherty and Kaye were reported by Dr. possibility of striking a spark from a pebble Grimshaw at widely separated intervals; that of with the piece of watch-spring Sherman had Doherty in 1923, that of Kaye not till March, found the day before.

  1924. A Miss Millicent Armbruster did live at A little further along Sherman, who was

  the address given by Doherty; the city records then in the lead, shouted. We hurried up to find

  Amazing Stories

  10

  him standing over a June-bug, which was lying he became quite expert with this ungainly on its back, kicking feebly. I attacked the insect weapon. With tiny stones for ammunition, he with a piece of watch-spring, but it was no could knock flies off distant grass-blades almost good. His shell defied my best efforts and I every time—an interesting but impractical feat, received a nasty scratch on the back from his as after the first attempt, none of us cared to try barbed legs as I tried to slay him. Sherman fly-meat again. The odor alone is enough to turn suggested we turn him over and work under the the stomach. Once he did succeed in slaying a wing-cases, but I was afraid he would crawl bee, however, and we got some valuable food away before we could accomplish anything, and from it, and about a week later, Kaye and his our final decision was to build a pyre over him sling removed from our path a very grim and and cook him as he lay.

  ferocious-looking spider that we all hesitated to Striking a spark from a stone may be

  approach.

  easy to those who are familiar with the art; for Our main difficulty was clothing.

  me it was agonizing effort. When we did get our Sherman offered the idea of working around fire going, the heat excited so much activity, on toward the park where we could perhaps come the June-bug’s part, that it kicked over our pile by a handkerchief or something of the sort. He of wood and we were back where we had

  pointed out that the numerous trees would started. After that Kaye and I hunted up a constitute an advantage, both in offering us pebble of some size, and heaving together we ample fuel and a place to live under the roots, managed to smash the animal’s head in. There and there was a possibility of getting small fish were a few convulsive motions after that, but for out of the shallower reaches of the creek.

  the most part he lay still, and we managed to get It took us over a week to make the long

  the fire going in good shape.

  march, but when we had accomplished it, we The meat in the legs, just where they

  were repaid for all our labor. At the border of swell out before joining the body, is the best; the stream we found a chair that one of the not unlike crab-meat to the taste. Inside the internes must have left behind, and with it not body the meat was not so thoroughly cooked only his medicine case, but a book, some and very fat besides. Kraicki was the only one writing paper and a bottle of ink.

  who would eat it.

  This was treasure-trove indeed. Kaye

  By the time we had finished with the

  and I hammered away at the catch of the

  June-bug it was already late afternoon. The medicine case for half an hour with the biggest conference we held decided against pushing on stone we could lift, and finally managed to get it to the garden. There was a good deal of June-open. Beside various oddments of no utility to bug meat left, and we had before us now the us, it contained a bottle of quinine capsules, problem of shelter rather than that of food.

  which were just what we wanted. Once the There was also the question of weapons, though quinine had been emptied out of them, they I solved this to some extent by worrying loose made ideal general carryalls. The bottle we the wing cases of the beetle and splitting them succeeded in breaking, an
d with the sharp glass down with the watch-spring. Properly sharpened and a good deal of patience, fashioned useful on a stone, they made not inefficient poinards; tools and weapons.

  rough, but good enough to attack insects with.

  I thought it would be worth while to

  Kaye, who was a bit of an antiquarian,

  write some kind of a record, as long as the gods essayed making a sling with the aid of some had thrown the bottle of ink and the paper in our tough grass fibres. After considerable practice, way, and with the aid of the others managed to

  Dr. Grimshaw’s Sanitarium 11

  roll the ink down to the headquarters we poor needles as we could contrive, and even presently established under an arching tree-root.

  Kraicki contributed to the general fund of The paper was a wash-out, however. It was too welfare by the discovery that the yellow hearts heavy and the beetle’s leg, which was perforce of grass stems have a delicious flavor when the only pen I had, too scratchy.

  baked.

  By this time it was full day, and we were But three days ago there came a change.

  running chances by going back to the things the Sherman and Kraicki were out hunting together.

  interne had left, but the gain was worth the risk, I was in our home, trying out some darts I had and I made another attempt. By great good made with fragments of wood and glass points, fortune the book was Brinkley’s “History of when Sherman burst in, panting with speed and Japan—india paper. With Sherman’s help I got very pale.

  a couple of the fly-leaves loose, and he had

  “What’s the matter?” I asked, “and

  gone off with one when I looked up and saw the where’s Kraicki?”

  menacing shape of a man in the distance—

  “Gone,” he said. “Grimshaw’s got a cat.

  Grimshaw, I thought, though from his height It found us.”

  and the distance, I could not be certain. Leaving Then I saw it all.

  the paper behind I fled.

  So I am leaving this record. There is no I doubt whether I would have written

  more hope for us. All that remains is a chance, this record even then but for what has happened however remote, that these capsules will fall since. We were comfortably domiciled under into the hands of some not too skeptical our root in the park, living off grasshoppers (of individual who will take the trouble to