Astounding British Edition, Vol. 9, No. 10 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Wi Wee Wake a] os el Te ee Rie See Se ie ' y Bit Bhs: oie ae | } * Dre tls it ~ Serdar cay’ “Ay th ula OA eee gk tite tie FT EON 6 ee he? if a : he ay r peat t *e t * Late i in the afternoon, the phone rang. = © aarmce answered it himself. “Dr. Harmon?” a woman asked. “Speaking.” “This is Dr. Lapham’s secretary. Will _ you hold on for a moment, please? Dr. Lapham will speak to you.” Harmon’s lips formed a line but he held on. Lapham was a long time coming. Then he was shouting into the phone, his voice a bustle of impatient importance. “Harmon, what’s going on across the _ street from you?” “I don’t know. I haven’t been over - there.” “Well, Pll tell you what it is—it’s a medicine show. I drove past there a few minutes ago and there is no question about it. They’ve even got signs up adver- tising some quack remedy.” “Is that so? As I said, I haven’t been over to see what is going on.” “Well, get over there, Harmon, and _ Teport back to me. I’m not going to have any medicine shows operating in this community, spreading their poisonous nostrums among my patients, as long as I’m president of the medical society.” “We don’t know they’re poisonous,” Harmon murmured. “What? We can take that for granted, I think. Get over there and tell them to leave. Tell them I’m giving them twenty- _ four hours to get out of town.” “Why don’t you tell them? You’re president of the local society. If this medicine show needs investigation or action, it’s your job to take care of it.” “What? Too busy, too busy, got an emergency case coming up, can’t possibly make it. Also, I’m too well known. If I try to look in on them, they'll recognize me and I won’t get a thing. But you’re not so well known—” “O.K., Tl look in on them as soon as _I can find time,” Harmon said, pain in his voice. “Make time, Harmon, that’s what I do. As soon as you report back to me, I'll _call the sheriff.” The phone clicked in Harmon’s ear as Lapham hung up. Evening had arrived before Harmon got away from his office. Walking across the street to the vacant lot, he saw that ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION — ae a makeshift stage had been erected. A speaker was on the stage and a crowd had already gathered. The spieler was tall, skinny, and hook-nosed. Words poured from him like water from a hose. . I want to tell you tonight about Father Mark’s remedy. However, ladies and gentlemen, I want to warn you in advance, there will be scoffers among you, there will be doubters, there will be people who do not, perhaps cannot, believe what I am going to say. I want to tell you that these people are justified in their attitude. I know from my own un- fortunate experience that there are char- latans, frauds, and quacks among us, and that the honest citizen unfortunately is forced to make important and vital medical decisions on the basis of in- adequate information, on what some friend tells him, on what he has read in a book or in a newspaper, even on what the almanac tells him. The result is that some- times we fall into the hands of blood- suckers whose only aim is to cheat us out of our money— Listening, Harmon was impressed. The selling technique was excellent, the delivery was powerful, and the man was telling the truth—so far. “Ladies and gentlemen, I want to make — one fact crystal clear—if there is one thing we are not after, it is your money!” The words produced a stir. Harmon wondered what Dr. Lapham would say if this statement were reported to him. The speaker paused. Harmon moved forward. The speaker glanced at him, glanced away, then pulled his eyes back to the young doctor. “Hi, Doc,” the speaker said, smiling. “How did you know me?” | “T caught a glimpse of you in your office this afternoon, sir, and noted the name on your shingle. Go right on back into the main tent, Dr. Harmon. My colleague there will answer any and all questions you care to ask. With your medical knowledge, you will be able to ask many questions that these good people, not learned in the art of Hippo- crates, do not know how to ask. Go right on into the tent, sir.” The speaker smiled and nodded. He had a compelling, magnetic quality about Eomichbooks.co AA