was no trace of alarm or dislike; her look spoke of longing, almost of the seeking for salvation. I thought, "She must be unhappy too. Unhappy people are sensitive to the unhappiness of others." Not until then did I happen to notice that she stood with difficulty, sup. porting herself on crutches. I suppressed a desire to run up beside her, but I could not take my eyes front her face. I felt tears starting, and saw then the tears brimming from her big eyes. That was all. Without saying a word I went out of the pharmacy and staggered back to my apartment. I asked Yoshiko to prepare a salt solution. I drank it. I went to sleep without telling her anything. The whole of the following day I spent in bed, giving as excuse a lie to the effect that I felt a cold coming on. At night my agitation over the blood I had secretly coughed became too much for me, and I got out of bed. I went to the pharmacy again. This time I confessed with a smile to the woman what my physical condition was. In humble tones I asked her advice. "You'll have to give up drinking." We were like blood relatives. "I may have alcoholic poisoning. I still want to drink." "You mustn’t. My husband used to soak himself in liquor in spite of his T.B. He claimed that he killed the germs with liquor. That's how he shortened his life."
